


Riding the Waves

by jeychen5



Series: Riding the Waves [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Funny, Gen, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 50,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeychen5/pseuds/jeychen5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kai was just a regular girl with normal friends and below-average grades. Everything was good… then the monsters came and the world of Greek mythology tipped her world upside down. Kai wants none of it, so of course she's immediately thrown in the middle of it. Just another reluctant hero...<br/>Warning: OC- centric</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of my fanfic :) I'm still trying to figure out this site.

It goes without saying: school definitely sucks. Big time. Unfortunately, it's also where my entire world did a full 180. Go figure. 

The trouble didn't start until the day of my school's annual “Parent Night.” But I guess I should probably start some time before that. 

I was in my sixth period American history class, struggling to stay awake as our teacher, Mrs. Tot, droned on about the evolution of the political parties since the early nineteen hundreds and outside social influences and blah blah blah. It was the last class on a Friday and my brain was fried from day-long excessive note taking and two pretest. 

This class was the source of all my boredom-related causes of after school detention. By the end of the day I started to lose all focus in anything school-related, and it didn’t help if Mrs. Tot was one of my more boring teachers. If she started talking about post war economics, there's a good chance I'd be snoozing, doodling, or passing notes in class. 

…the latter being why I got detention that faithful day. 

Mrs. Tot was talking about the shifting values of the Democratic Party since it was first conceived. I was only half listening, my attention split between drawing stick figures in my composition book and thinking about bulk-sized box of Skittles I hid (and occasionally sold individual boxes of) under my bed. “Illegal candy stashes” would get me at least two months worth of after-school detention of smacking chalkboard erasers together even though this school hasn't used a chalkboard in a bajillion years. 

Anyway, it was when I caught Mrs. Tot saying: “All right, class. What do you think caused the democrats to become the party they are today? Put on your Democratic hats and really think about it!” that my Bad Idea light bulb lit up. 

Of course, it was the teacher's pet (and student class president) Alana that spoke up. During that time, I tore out a sheet of paper from my composition book, scribble a word down in my awful handwriting, and tried to pass it to my friend, Hayden, who sat to my left. 

My only mistake was that I made it too obvious. 

Mrs. Tot caught me instantly. “Ms. Fischer,” she addressed me calmly. 

“Yes ma'am?”I straighten in my chair. 

A few of my friends snickered. Alana turned towards me, giving me her patented “ _seriously_?” look. 

Mrs. Tot wasn't buying my innocent act. “What is in your hand, Ms Fischer?” 

“A piece of paper, ma’am,” I said quickly. 

She glowered. “Is there something on the paper?” 

I sighed. I couldn't lie to a teacher when she was giving a death glare like that. “Yes, ma'am.” 

“Would you like to read it to the class?” 

“No, not really.” 

“ _Ms. Fischer_.” 

I slumped in my chair, trying to ignore the giggling that was coming from around me. I unfolded the paper and started to read it out loud, but Mrs. Tot interrupted me. 

“Stand up in front of the class, please, Ms. Fischer since you have something important to say,” she said. 

I resisted the urge to groan and wind up in even more trouble. Why do teachers always do this to me? Is it fun to watch me suffer? 

(You could say that I deserved this from passing notes in class, but that’s beside the point.) 

Silently, note in hand, I sulked to the front of the class. Hayden gave me a sympathetic look from the back row. Alana sighed, shaking her head. 

I got to the front, where Mrs. Tot's desk was, and got ready to humiliate myself. 

I took a deep breath and read my paper. 

“Asshats.” 

After a beat, the entire class erupted into laughter. Even straight-laced Alana stifled a chuckle. 

But Mrs. Tot didn't laugh. She looked like she wanted to throttle me. 

“Care to explain yourself?” she asked, coldly. 

I figured what the heck? I already got my detention. “You said to put on your 'democratic hats.' My ADHD brain immediately jumped to…” I did a rotating motion with my hand. 

Mrs. Tot sneered. “Say it.” 

I blinked. “Asshats.” 

The class laughed on cue like a prerecorded studio audience. Nothing like some dirty words to get a room full of eight graders to show their true colors. 

“Right.” She smiled at me, but it wasn't friendly. “Go back to your seat.” 

That's all? I wanted to ask, but I figured I already made a moron out of myself already. No need to make it worse. 

The last half hour of class went by smoothly. I actually tried paying attention this go-round. I even wrote some notes, even though my note book was layered in doodles and my writing was nearly illegible. 

When the final bell rang, everyone gathered their stuff and ran towards the door like ants fleeing water. Hayden and I straggled near the end of the mob. 

“Ms. Fischer,” I heard Mrs. Tot say. “I need to have a word with you.” 

I turned towards Hayden. “I'll meet you later, ‘kay?” 

She looked at Mrs. Tot wearily, then back at me. Her gaze made me uncomfortable, for some reason. “All right.” She said, and left. 

I sat in the front chair, closest to Mrs. Tot's desk, as I was accustomed to. Mrs. Tot got out of her chair and strolled to the front, leaning back on her desk. She regarded me with a cold, dark stare. 

Mrs. Tot was one of the youngest teachers who worked at our school; maybe in her early thirties, and was very pretty. Her black curly hair was pulled into a classic “teachers'-style” bun, with a similar business casual style. She had moved here from Egypt a few years back, but trace amounts of her accent was still there. 

Another thing: she always had a pitcher of water and a glass on her desk that she never touched during class. When asked about it on the first day of class, all she said was that it was for “sentimental reasons,” and we left it at that. 

After what seemed like eternity, Mrs. Tot finally spoke. “This is the second time you've interrupted my class in less than a month, Ms. Fischer. We're not off to a very good start now, are we?” 

“No, ma'am,” I said quickly. “I'm sorry.” 

She sighed. “You know what I must do, right? Understand that I have no choice. After-school detention for a week starting Monday sounds about fair.” 

I nodded. 

“Tonight is Parent Night, so I going to expect better behavior from you. And I'm sure your parents do as well, correct?” 

I shuffled in my seat. “Yes… yes, ma'am.” 

Mrs. Tot eyes soften a degree. “Kaia,” she sighed. I was surprised, because she never used our first names. “I know it's not your fault. It's your 'condition'. But do try to do better. Are you taking your medication?” 

My cheeks burned. I nodded again. 

“Good. I'd hate to dole out any third offense punishment. It's not really my style anymore.” 

She fixed me a humorless smile, like I should know what she meant. That made me feel more nervous than I already was. I shook off the feeling and decided not to ask for details. I just “Yes ma'amed” and left as quickly as I could. 

As I walked out of the class room, I heard Mrs. Tot pouring herself a glass of water, a sound I never thought could be so ominous. ~*~ 

I found Hayden sitting on the couch with a couple of our other friends in the common room. 

The common room (or “chill zone” as our principal who failed at being cool called it) was basically a cross between a library and a rec room. Shelves of books sat by the plush leather couch. Adjacent, there were a cluster of round tables by the window where you could study, but mostly they were used for board games and snoozing. 

A blonde girl sat alone near the window, reading a book with a building on the cover. I recognized her as one of the sophomores who were new to the school. 

A fuse ball table was on the opposite wall. A large TV sat on the wall in front if the couch. One of my friends, Axel Powers (yes, that is his real name), was channel surfing through stations. 

I plopped next to Hayden, and lolled my head back in an exaggerated dying expression. 

She laughed. “That bad?” 

“A full week of after school detention,” I groaned. “I'll miss, like, ten whole hours of TV.” 

One of Axel's friends piped in, “At least it starts Monday. You have a two day break.” 

“Pfft.” 

Hayden play-mockingly patted my head like, “Poor baby.” 

Axel stopped flipping channel and fixed me with his sea blue eyes. I couldn't help but notice the cute way his hair swept over his forehead, the dimples in his cheeks… “I can't believe you said _that_ in class,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “That's—” 

“Insane,” Hayden offered. “Perhaps psychotic?” 

“It was pretty funny. And pretty cool.” 

My cheeks warmed and my stomach fluttered at the compliment. 

I chuckled sheepishly. “Well, I didn't plan to say that out loud and all…” 

My friends laughed and playfully teased me before going back to doing what they were before I arrive: watching TV or gossiping. 

Hayden raised an eyebrow at me. “Asshats? Really?” 

“Oh, shut up.” 

Hayden laughed and we talked for a while; our usual stuff about what was on TV and how I blushed when Axel complimented me. Hayden and I have been best friends since third grade. We were virtually inseparable. 

Hayden was half-white, half-Japanese with long dark hair; strangely though, her eyes were pale green. She wore combat boots with the school uniform. I wasn’t sure if it was allowed being “Goth fashion” and all, but no one questioned it.   

About a half-hour later, she decided to head back to her room to prepare for tonight. 

“But Parent Night isn't for another two hours,” I said, but as soon as I did I regretted it. “Oh, I'm sorry…” 

Hayden shifted in her seat and stared at the floor. 

Her father died two years earlier in an accident. She would've been sent to foster care if her mom hadn't taken custody. Hayden never told me the full story of how it all went down, which was fine, she didn’t have to. But it was the part about her mother that was the biggest mystery. I had never met Hayden's mom, and until the accident, I didn't even know that Hayden _knew_ her mom. 

“It's fine," Hayden said softly. “I just want to take a nap, that’s all.” 

“Oh.” I wanted to ask if everything was okay with her, but then figured that I was just being paranoid. “No problem. I'll see you tonight.” 

She nodded. “See you later.” She grabbed the lavender bag that she took everywhere, and left the couch. Before leaving the room, she glanced at the blonde girl briefly. Distracted, Hayden didn't see the seventh grader that barreled into her. 

“Sorry!” he squeaked, before limping over to the blonde girl. 

Hayden eyed the boy curiously before shrugging and going on her way. 

I recognized the seventh grader from my PE class. He had a muscular disorder or something which allowed him to sit out in class. I kind of felt bad for him; he was always looking on wistfully when we played extreme kick ball. 

He went over to the blonde girl, and started speaking frantically to her. Maybe they were siblings? I didn't want to eavesdrop, so I turned my attention towards the TV. Old Jabberjaw cartoons were on. ~*~ 

When I returned to my room around three cartoons later, I was shocked to find that Alana was already there. Usually, she was at her many clubs or at practice. She sat in front of the vanity mirror that we shared, styling her caramel-colored hair into a bob with her curling iron. 

Music played on the radio. I recognized it as the Jonas Brothers, Alana's favorite band. I cringed and rolled my eyes. I was tempted to throw the radio out the window, but I controlled my (completely justified) urge and plopped down on my bed. 

Alana looked at me through the mirror. “Some stunt you pulled today.” She sounded half amused, half annoyed. 

“Yeah, well…” I sighed, hugging my stuffed panda bear to my chest. The last thing I wanted was another scolding. 

“Hmm.” She set the curling iron down, and spun on her seat to face me. “Listen, Kaia,” she said gently, or maybe condescendingly, “you have to stop acting like that. It reflects badly on both of us, and I, well… I have an image to uphold.” 

I glared listlessly at Alana then closed my eyes. How could someone so snotty and straight-laced be _my_ sister, let alone my twin? We didn't even look alike, so how could she be bothered with me “ruining her image” when most people didn't even know we were related? 

I bit my lip and nodded. “Sorry, Lana. It's been a long week.” 

“Have you been taking your medication every day?” 

“Uh, define 'every day'?” 

“Kaia!” Alana cried in a shrill voice. 

“Kidding, Lana. Seriously.” I sat up on my bed. “I hate taking them. They make me feel so…not really here.” 

Her glare softened. “I know, Kai. But maybe if you take one now, you’ll behave tonight and not get into anymore trouble.” 

I sighed and raised my hands in defeat. “Fine, I will. Will that make you happy?” 

Alana grinned, her brown eyes glittering in triumph. “Yes, it would.” She turned back to the mirror, inspecting her perfect 'do. “Hey, let me straight iron your hair.” 

I snorted, hopping out of bed and heading towards the bathroom. “After last time? Not a chance!” 

“I promise not to burn you this time!” 

“Keep that thing away from me!” I slammed the bathroom door. 

Through the door, I heard Alana's muffled voice call out, “Real mature, Kai!” and I couldn’t help chuckling. 

The bathroom was small, just a sink, toilet, and a shower. Everything was painted a soft peach color with seashell wall paper. Next to the door hung pink and green towels with our names embroidered on either one (I'll give you one chance to guess which is whose). 

Above the sink, the mirror opened to a compartment that could be used to store medicine, which of course meant that I didn't store my medicine there. 

I eyed the orange bottle of pills that lay on the counter. I knew that taking them now wouldn’t do much good now since school was over, but there was no point in arguing with Alana. She meant well, but she could be so image conscious sometimes. She liked for everything to be her version of perfection and frankly, it was annoying. 

But Alana was as close to perfect as one could get. Along with being the eighth grade president, she was co-head captain for the middle school cheerleading squad along with captain of the swim team. She got straight A's and never got a single detention in her life. Alana was beautiful, prettier than I was. She had flawless beige skin, a shade or two lighter than mine and perfect hair. Alana was one of those bubbly girls who loved pink, talked about boys, and debated the pros and cons of celebrity heartthrobs. And of course everyone loved her. 

Then there was me, the complete opposite: An ADHD, dyslexic, trouble maker with a potty mouth who threw Alana's _A_ plus-plus grade down to a C minus. 

I berated myself for throwing a pity party, and grabbed the pills before I could delve deeper into my self-pity. I popped the bottle and swallowed one of the orange capsules, using the tap as a drink. 

I hated the pills. They killed my appetite, and made me feel not quite all together, like my consciousness was floating around outside of my head. 

In the fourth grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. The school provided tutoring and help, so reading and writing became somewhat easier than it would’ve been for me. My English and reading classes were still a hassle, though; words still swam around like an unsynchronized swimming team and reading anything more than a paragraph made my head throb and my eyes cross. 

The pills didn't come in until seventh grade; my parents didn't want me on medication at the age nine. They tried to get me alternative help: special no process sugar, super fiber diets; one-cup-a-day green tea diets; strict exercise regimens (all of which I never followed). None helped, and with my teacher's coercion, my parents sort of gave in. 

When I left the bathroom, Alana was still prepping herself in the mirror, smoothing the creases in her skirt and applying lip gloss. 

“Conceited much?” I joked. 

“Shh.” She threw one of her makeup tissues at me. It sailed slowly over to me and landed harmlessly on my head. 

“Ow,” I said, deadpan. 

Alana ignored me, placing a pink headband in her perfect hair and making googly eyes at her poster of Tristan McLean. “You should get ready,” she said. “Mom and Dad will be here soon, and I want to see them before I speak. Besides, you look frumpy.” 

“Gee, thanks.” 

I looked down at my blue pants and white and red uniform collar shirt. The only thing “frumpy” about me were my mismatched pair of converses: one red, one green. 

“Let me brush your hair,” Alana insisted, waving her hair brush around. “Or a ponytail! You always look so cute with a ponytail.” 

After some convincing, I conceded, and let Alana have her way. Eventually, she had me in a ponytail with one of her pink scrunchies and (gasp!) lip gloss, which I planned to wipe of later. 

Pleased, Alana grabbed our sweaters and ushered me out the door. ~*~ 

Hayden met us on the way to the auditorium. She was wearing a long sleeve school shirt with the red band on the bicep and long skirt with her boots. Her lavender bag hung at her side. She looked nice, but she looked sad. 

I touched her shoulder. “You sure you want to come? No one's going to be mad if you stay in tonight.” 

“No,” she said quickly, and put an arm around my shoulder to jostle me. “I mean, who's going to make sure you don't get in trouble for cussing out everyone and their mama?” 

“Hardee-har-har.” 

We headed towards the noise. Mingling adults and chatty teens could be heard a mile away. When we got to the theater, I was taken aback by how many parents decided to come this year. I wasn’t worried about seating, though, the theater had a 1,000 seating capacity: a stage worthy of any New York theater. 

The student government decorated the entire auditorium with red and white streamers and balloons. A banner hung on top of the stage that read “Welcome, Parents, to Saint Catherine's School for the Gifted and Special. A fitting name, Alana once joked, since she was gifted, and I was “special”. 

Along the wall were tables filled with cheese and crackers, vegetable trays, chips and dip, and a cooler of water and soda. They looked great, but unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very hungry (thanks, Lana). 

I caught Axel out of the corner of my eye. He was by the punch bowl with his parents and a group of his friends. When he saw me, he waved a “rock out” sign with his hand at me. I felt myself blush, but I waved the sign back. 

Through the web of adults and students, we managed to spot my parents near the front, talking to Mrs. Tot. I grimaced and headed towards the exit, but Alana dragged me back by my ear. 

My parents—David and Lanakila—smiled when they saw us. Hugs and greetings were exchange around. 

Mrs. Tot excused herself, and I could've sworn she glared at me before she left, but I didn't really notice. It was nice to see my parents again. I didn't get to see them all the time, and honestly, I missed them. 

Mom looked at me with beautiful dark eyes and a playful smile. Her brown skin was set beautifully against a dark green blouse and black pencil skirt. Her black hair was cut short. 

My dad was handsome, with close cropped sandy hair and blue eyes.  He wore his standard black business suit and dress shoes. The least serious thing about what he wore was a Scooby-Doo tie Alana and I got him for Father's Days two years ago. 

Mom hugged me again. She smelled like our home: vanilla coffee beans with a hint of tropical fruit blend febreeze. “Hi, girls. You three look beautiful.” 

I rubbed the back if my head, embarrassed. “Mom…” 

“And you've grown— what? Two, three feet, Junior?” Dad joked, measuring Alana, bringing his hand from his forehead to hers as if they were the same height. 

“It’s just ‘Lana’, Dad,” Alana complained. 

Dad just grinned. “Hey, your mother was Lana first. It’s only fair.” 

We talked and caught up for a while. Mom and Dad talked about how our grandparents and Max (our baby brother) were doing; we talked about school so far. Sure, it didn’t sound very exciting, but it was nice to talk to my parents again. 

Eventually, Alana had to run backstage to join the other student council members. The principal, a pudgy guy in his fifties, came on stage a told everyone that they would be ready in a few minutes. 

“Hayden,” my dad said kindly. “Why don't you pick out a seat for us? We'll be there in a second.” 

_Uh oh_ , I thought. _Here it comes_. 

“Sure, Mr. Fischer,” Hayden said, and left to find our seats. 

My parents turned their attention back to me. I looked down, studying my shoe laces. 

“Kaia,” Mom said gently. “Your teacher, Mrs. Tot, had a talk with us. She said you were passing inappropriate notes in class. Is that true?” 

I never understood why Mom asked me if something was true when she knew the truth anyway, but I always was honest when she did. “Yeah.” 

“Kai.” Dad placed a hand on my shoulder. The joking in his voice was replaced with a serious edge. “We'll talk more about this later tonight. But know that your mother and I aren't exactly pleased with your behavior. You should know better.” 

“I'm sorry.” I meant it. I hated making my parents upset and disappointed. They expected me to do my best, and I felt awful giving them otherwise. 

Dad's eyes softened. “We know you’re trying, Kai. Don't think that we aren't proud of you.” 

Proud of what, I wanted to ask. I struggled to maintain my _C_ average. I wasn't a part of any clubs. I wasn't… well, I wasn't Alana. 

Mom smiled at me reassuringly, which made me feel a bit better. Her warm smile reminded me back when we used to live in Hawaii and mom would hug me and sing me a lullaby whenever I was sad. 

The lights in the auditorium dimmed, signaling for everyone to grab a seat. 

We squeezed in the middle section by Hayden just as the principal was walking on stage. Hayden mouthed, “You okay?” I smiled and gave a thumbs up. 

The night went as it always had: the principal first with cheesy jokes and phony positive attitude; then Alana with Vice President Axel Powers and the rest of the student body government from the other classes came on and talked about the plans for the year; and the high school band played the two same songs every year: the school theme, and the butchered chorus for “This is how We do it.” 

The teachers lined the bottom of the stage and the walls around the seats. Most looked bored, while others pigged out on snack table delectables. 

But Mrs. Tot glowered at me, as if _daring_ me to goof up. 

A video of the previous year highlights was started to play along some with dated pop music. My eyes were starting to glaze over. Every Parent Night was the same, and honestly it was getting old. 

Next to me, Hayden had the same bored expression on her face, like she'd rather be doing pushups in P.E. 

A cheesy clip with the principal at the pep rally stealing the pompoms away from an unsuspecting cheerleader to “show her how it's really done” played and sent the theater into hysterics. I nodded at the video and made a sour face at Hayden; she covered her mouth and puffed it her cheeks in a puking motion. 

Suddenly, she froze and grabbed her arm rest. Her eyes went wide staring at the video… no, not the video, at Mrs. Tot. Her face went through a series of troubling emotions so quickly—shock, realization, fear—it worried me. 

I frowned. “Hayden?” I whispered. “You okay?” 

“We need to leave.” Her voice was soft, but hoarse. 

“What?” 

She jumped, as if she had just realized that she'd spoken aloud. She swallowed hard, a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. “Bathroom…” she said finally. “I have to go to the bathroom.” 

“Oh, okay.” Something was wrong, but I decided not to press her. “I'll go with.” 

Hayden nodded and scurried out of her seat. I told my parents where we were going and that we'd be back soon. 

I didn't know it then, but I wouldn't be seeing them again for a long time. 

The hallway was a lot quieter than it had been earlier, which was kind of unsettling. I pretty much grew up at this school, but it was still downright eerie at night. It was like the quiet in a horror movie before a killer jumped out of a locker a killed the two unsuspecting teenage girls heading to the bathroom. 

_Okay_ , I chided myself. _No more happy thoughts_. 

I walked closer to Hayden, or I tried to. Hayden speed walked so fast ahead of me, I nearly had to jog to keep up. I almost didn't notice when Hayden passed the bathrooms. 

“Uh, Hayday,” I said. “The bathroom is that-a-way.” 

Hayden continued to stalk ahead without a word. 

I tried again. “Hayden?” 

“We're leaving,” Hayden retorted, as if it were a matter-of-fact. “Just trust me.” 

I froze in my tracks. We were a good ten feet from the side exit door. Hayden looked annoyed that we were stopping, but otherwise didn't say a word. 

“Hayden,” I said. “What are you talking about?” 

She glanced nervously behind me at the theater doors. She looked like she wanted to bolt, but instead she said, “Mrs. Tot… she–” 

“Oh, you're worried about her?” I laughed dryly. “She's mad at me, not you. Don't worry about it.” 

“No.” Hayden looked back at the theater door. I've never seen her so nervous before. “Listen. There's this place— a camp— my mom told me about… I don't know much about it, but I know I need to get you there. It'll be safer for the two of us. Mrs. Tot won't be able to get you.” 

“You're not making any sense.” 

Hayden clenched her bag. “I'll explain better later, okay? But right now we need to leave.” 

“Hayden–” 

“We’re wasting time!” 

“We can't just _leave_.” 

“No,” another voice said. “No, you cannot.” 

Mrs. Tot stood behind us, arms crossed. I hadn't heard the theater doors open. It was as if she had just materialized there. I was expecting her to lecture us and write us up for skipping an assembly we were already attending, but she didn't look angry. She looked almost… pleased. As if we did something she bet money on us to do. 

Hayden hissed and swore. But it wasn't in English, it didn’t even sound Japanese. 

“You.” Hayden glared at Mrs. Tot. “I should've known.” 

Mrs. Tot frowned in a mocking way. “But you can’t see everything, right? You sea-types are so predictable.” 

Sea-types? 

Hayden ground her teeth. 

I looked between the two of them, confused. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I wanted to avoid a confrontation. 

“Mrs. Tot,” I said, trying to sound reasonable. “I'm sorry. We were just going—” 

“Oh, I know where you were going,” Mrs. Tot spat.  ”Going to that little camp for heroes? Pah! You won't be safe there for long. Fortunately for you, this is a third offense.” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out… a black whistle. 

I started to say something, but thought better of it. _Okay_ , I thought, _she has a whistle. Big whoop_. What's she going do? Alert the entire school so they can shame us for attempting to leave school? I mean, that sounded awful, but not harmful. 

Still, a chill ran down my spine, and I had a feeling that it was much worse than that. 

“Please, Mrs. Tot,” I said. “I don't… we're just—” 

“Shut up!” 

I flinched. Mrs. Tot was never one to yell or lose her cool. She was always calm and collected. 

But the woman in front of us wasn't anything like that. Her eyes shone with a twisted, _insane_ light. 

She raised a polished finger at me. “I'm sick of you. You're like your wretched father, always making up excuses.” 

“My dad?” I was started to get angry. She was pulling my parents into this crazy situation? “You don't know anything about him–” 

“I know plenty,” she said curtly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she almost sounded heartbroken. “I know a lot more than the two of you.” She glowered at me. “Little Kaia… I didn't know your true identity at first, but I should have trusted my patron. I know you, and you are no threat, but my patron doesn't like to leave loose ends.” 

“Look, Lady,” Hayden snapped, reaching into her bag. I didn't know what she was reaching for, but a can of mace or a club would've been nice. “I know want to do this, but—” 

“Hayden Kawaguchi,” Mrs. Tot grinned coldly. “Daughter of Thetis. I know of your divine blood. You are powerful, but even you can't defeat my patron's monsters.” 

Hayden paled like she'd seen a ghost. “How do you…” 

I turned to Hayden. “Thetis? What is she—” 

“Kaia. Get behind.” 

I haven't heard he speak that deathly serious in so long, and it scared me. 

Hayden pulled what she grabbed from out of her bag. At first I thought it was a baseball bat, even though it was too big to fit in there. She emerged it completely: a large battle axe almost as tall as she was. The blade was a blacker-than-black metal, maybe iron. The shaft was pure gold with the lower half wrapped in worn brown leather. At the base, a jewel sparkled in a million different colors. I couldn't tell if it were a ruby or an emerald or a sapphire. It should have weighed a ton, but Hayden wielded it as if it were made of paper towel rolls. 

“You want a fight?” Hayden's voice was ice cold. “Then bring it.” 

Mrs. Tot just smiled and put the whistle to her lips. “Time to die, little heroes.”


	2. Chapter 2

Imagine the sharpest, loudest, most awful noise you have ever heard in your entire life. Imagine that plus nails on a chalk board, squeaky violin strings, Jar Jar Binks, and the world's loudest, ugliest baby all singing in horrible cacophony. 

Okay, now multiply that by six and you'll have a pretty good idea how awful Mrs. Tot's whistle was. She blew it so loud I was surprised that no one came from the auditorium to investigate. 

Hayden winced at the noise, her face screwed tight. I covered my ears, but there was no lessening the sound. 

Thankfully (or unthankfully) the whistling stopped. 

I looked up at Mrs. Tot, who just kept grinning like a crazy lady. 

I scoffed. “That’s it? You wanted to make us deaf?” 

“Kai!” Hayden gasped and grabbed my arm. I followed her eyes to the floor to see what she was gawking at. 

My heart nearly stopped beating. 

The floor tiles were moving. A low snarl came from underneath, vibrating the floor. With terrible realization, I knew that large beasts were trying to emerge from under the ground, rising and breaking apart the tile like it was made of egg shells. My stomach churned. 

“Oh, God,” I squeaked. 

“Kai,” Hayden said. “Let's go.” 

“Okay.” 

We dashed towards the exit, running straight into the crisp evening air. We were emptied out into a small alleyway next to an old cafe and a boutique that Alana and her friends liked to visit on weekends. I was expecting the streets to be crowded on a Friday evening, but there were only sprinkles of people present. Families were going out for dinner; friends were hanging out near stores, chatting and catching up; a guy on a corner played the drums on orange buckets. Everyone was blissfully unaware of the awful things that Mrs. Tot had just unleashed. 

We ran, weaving through groups of people and cutting through alleys. I didn't dare look back once. Hayden took the lead. I wasn't sure where she was planning to go, but as long as we were far away from the school and Mrs. Tot I didn't care. 

My heart felt like it was trying to beat out of my chest, half from running and half from fear. Hayden looked no better than how I felt. Her face was paler than normal, but her eyes told me she was more surprised than terrified. That idea worried me. 

Without realizing it, we had made it to a busier side of the city. Cabs zoomed recklessly past with typical cautiousness and consideration of the average New York taxi driver. The side walk was cluttered with people, who paid no attention to two panicked school girls (one wielding a giant battle axe) running for dear life. Then again, stranger things have happen in New York City. 

Eventually, we had to stop. I slumped against a building wall, panting and as my adrenaline started to leave me. Hayden checked for pursuers from the direction we had come from. 

“Do you see anything?” I asked Hayden between breaths. 

She shook her head. “No. I think we threw them off for a while. But they will probably smell us soon.” 

“ _Smell_ us? All right, what _were_ those things?” 

She shook her head again, completely dumbfounded. “I… I don't know. I haven't seen anything like those before.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out.” I made the time-out gesture with my hands. “What do you mean you haven't seen things like those before? You mean you've seen other–” 

“Monsters? Yeah, I have.” She frowned so deeply, it looked like it might've hurt. 

My mind was reeling with questions. The way she said “monsters” was so casual… this was a side to Hayden that I've never seen before. But before I could ask any more, Hayden grabbed my arm. 

“C'mon,” she said. “We need to go. We can't stay here for too long.” 

“And go where?” I asked. 

“We need a cab. How much money do you have on you?” 

I just stared at her. “Fresh out of money.” 

She leaned her axe on the wall of the building and rummaged through her bag. After a while, she swore again in that language I didn't recognize. “This is bad.” 

_No duh_ , I wanted to say. But Hayden looked stressed enough trying to figure out a plan without any snarky comments from the peanut gallery. 

“Maybe we should stay in the city,” I suggested. “If those… _things_ can really smell us, then they won't be able to find us as easily now. Right?” 

Hayden nodded, but the look in her eyes was still distant. 

I wanted to say something to cheer her up, but a growl cut me off before I could. 

I gulped. No way… 

A block away, Mrs. Tot emerged from behind a building, her eyes still wild. She didn't have her beasts with her, but that didn’t make me feel any better. 

Hayden handed me her bag. “I have a knife in there,” she explained without taking her eyes off Mrs. Tot. “Get it out, but stay behind me. I'm not letting you get hurt.” 

Mrs. Tot was closer. 

“We have to get her away from the mortals,” Hayden continued. “She’s dangerous.” 

I couldn't find my voice to respond. Everything was too surreal to be happening. 

We turned to run, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as we were face-to-face with one of the monsters. 

It was easiest the scariest thing I've ever seen: a long, ugly reptile with brown and green scaly skin. Instead of normal lizard legs—whatever _those_ were supposed to be— it had chicken legs; feathers, talons, and all. Small, chicken-like wings seemed to be attached awkwardly onto its side. If that were odd or horrible enough, on its head, it had the horns like a ram. Or, at least I thought it was its head. Its long tail was the size of its neck, with another horrifying head where the end of the tail should be. It whipped side to side angrily, like it wanted a turn at being in the front. 

Hayden gasped and jumped back. I (the graceful angel that I am) shrieked pathetically and stumbled back so hard I fell on my rear. 

Behind us, Mrs. Tot cackled. “Did you really just try to run?” 

I barely registered what she said. I had locked eyes with the monster, and was paralyzed. Its dull yellow glared made it pretty clear that it was going to eat me. Yet, for some reason, it didn’t attack. 

“Don't worry,” Mrs. Tot said smoothly. “He won't eat you just yet. He's awaiting his brethren before ripping you to shreds. Impeccable manners.” She glided over to the monster and petted its horn. 

Hayden straightened her back and glared at Mrs. Tot. “What do you want with us? And where are your other little pets?” I knew that she must've been as scared as I was, but her voice rang with confidence. 

I mustered the strength to finally get on my feet and break eye contact with the monster. Its cold eyes burned their way into my corneas. 

My teacher tutted and shook her head in disapproval. “How long were you in my class? You know I hate to repeat myself. But my 'pets' are _Amphisbaenae_ , by the way. They were born when the blood of Medusa decapitated head fell to the Earth. After that they were molded by Mother Earth herself.” 

Shaking, I tore through Hayden's bag and pulled out her knife. It wasn't as ornamental as her axe, just a foot long black blade with the hilt wrapped in beige leather. 

I wielded it weakly at the monster. It just growled and raked the concrete, tearing through it like wet clay. If the people of New York found anything odd with a standoff between two adolescent girls and a crazed middle school teacher with her pet chicken/snake monster, they didn’t show it. 

Hayden gulped, but stood firm. “Who are you really, then?” Hayden inquired. “Is Tot an acronym or something?” 

Mrs. Tot frowned. “I guess you wouldn't know of me. I don't have many stories, after all. But no matter. You'll both be dead very soon.” 

She fixed me with a murderous look, like I was a screaming child who got their candy taken away by their parents. “You really thought that you could fool me? You’re dumber than you look.” 

I wanted to scream. I grew up with kids calling me stupid or slow. I hated it. I wanted to run the monster though with the dagger and backhand Mrs. Tot, but I couldn't stop shaking. I knew I couldn't kill the thing in front of me. It would either bite me in two or slice me to ribbons with its chicken claws. 

Behind me, Hayden tensed. “Kai,” she whispered. “Duck.” 

It took me a second before I realized what she meant. I hit the ground. 

Hayden swung so fast, her axe was a blur. Mrs. Tot jumped out of the way but the monster wasn't so lucky. The instant it was hit it exploded into a cloud of yellow dust. 

I stared at the spot where the monster was. Mrs. Tot scowled at Hayden. Her red face and heavy breathing reminded me of old cartoons before a character blew up out of anger. Only somehow not as funny. 

Hayden recomposed herself. “You’re not a monster, are you?” 

Mrs. Tot’s scowled deepen, but otherwise she didn’t speak. 

“Well then,” Hayden smirked. “I guess I can do _this_.” 

In a swift motion, she grabbed Mrs. Tot by the arm, pulled her close, and hit her square in the throat with the side of her hand. 

Mrs. Tot’s eyes rolled into her head, and she crumpled onto the sidewalk. 

My draw dropped. “What… how…” 

“She won’t be out for long,” Hayden said. “And more of her… _Amphisbaenae_ are coming. Let’s move.” 

I groaned. “You know, sooner or later I want a thorough explanation.” 

She didn’t respond as she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street. I didn’t want to do anymore cross-county races, but on the other hand I didn’t want to be around when Mrs. Tot recovered her senses. 

As we sprinted down the street, pedestrians either moved out of our way or mumbled something about bratty teens as we barreled past them. Strange… 

“Why are people just now noticing us?” I asked. 

Ahead of us, a hot dog vender and his stand carted in our way. I darted past it, but Hayden didn’t seem to be fazed by it. She jumped gracefully, gliding over the counter in one clean motion, and continued her running. The hot dog vender looked surprised for a second, but then shook his head and grumbled something about pigeons. 

“The Mist,” she said simply, as if that explained everything. 

“Miss who?” 

“ _Mist_ ,” she corrected. “It’s this magical veil that separates the mortal world from the world of the gods by distorting their vision to fit their perception of reality—” 

“In English please!” 

“I _was_ speaking English!” She grabbed my arm and turned me left. 

I huffed. “In layman’s terms, then.” 

“It makes people see what they want to see. It changed reality so they can’t see what’s really happening.” 

Okay, I thought. I wanted to argue, but Hayden suddenly came to an abrupt halt. 

We were running so long that I hadn’t even notice that we were on the esplanade Battery Park City. 

The walkway was deserted, except for an old woman feeding some pigeons on a bench. The murky blue waters of the Hudson River glowed orange in the setting sun. 

My brow knitted. “Why did we stop?” 

“You’ll see if a minute,” Hayden said. “Just get behind me and—oh, gods.” 

I turned in the direction where she was looking. My jaw went slack. 

The old lady on the bench wasn’t feeding pigeons. They were more of the monsters, about five _Amphisbaenae_ in total. And don’t ask me why creepy chicken-footed snake monsters were eating bird feed in the middle of Battery Park. This day kept making less and less sense. 

“I didn’t see them,” I whispered. “Was that the Mist, too?” 

“Yep,” Hayden confirmed. “The lady must think that they’re birds or something. The Mist around them must be really thick.” 

“This is insanity.” 

“Yeah, well stick around. It’ll get a lot worse.” 

“Oh, _goody_.” 

The _Amphisbaenae_ swiveled the heads on their tails like they just noticed us. They growled like lions gargling gravel. The monsters sauntered over like we weren’t worth the hassle of killing. One of them (the ugliest of the ugly bunch) took the lead, its eyes glowing brighter than the rest. 

I lifted my knife, although I wasn’t sure what I could do. Hayden grabbed her axe, and fierce determination flashed in her eyes. 

The one in front unhinged its jaw and shot out something foul-smelling and orange. At first I thought it was fire, until I saw that it moved more like a cloud than fire. It moved so quickly we didn’t have time to dodge it. 

Then, for the umpteenth time that day, something crazy happened. 

Hayden raised her free hand forward. Water spiraled out of the Hudson behind us. A liquid tentacle whipped over us, dispersing the orange cloud and grabbing the _Amphisbaenae_ that had unleashed it. In the blink of an eye, the watery lasso shot the monster over head and it flew straight into the river. 

Did she just… 

I looked at her incredulously. “What are you, a water bender?” 

She gritted her teeth. “Now is not the time for cartoon references!” 

The remaining four _Amphisbaenae_ stared behind us as if realizing their fallen comrade had just drowned in the Hudson. They returned their glares at us. 

Another one approached us, and I wondered why they weren’t attacking us together. Then I scolded myself for not considering us lucky. 

Instead of another cool water bending trick, Hayden gripped her axe and swung, but this monster was smarter than its brethren. It hobbled back in a wacky, chicken-legged way, and lashed its tail at Hayden. She backed away in time for it to miss her legs and just snap at her skirt, ripping it. Hayden brought her axe down on its tail like a guillotine and cleaved it through the monster’s belly in one swift motion. The _Amphisbaena_ erupted into a shower of sand. 

Hayden flipped her axe and dug the upper corner of it into the dirt. She glared at one of the _Amphisbaenae_ , mumbled something I didn’t catch under her breath. Suddenly, the shadows on the esplanade elongated and the air turned colder. I had the sudden urge to run and hide in a tree. The jewel at the bottom of axe glowed with a black light. 

The _Amphisbaena_ that Hayden addressed turned and fled down the esplanade. The remaining two backed away nervously. For a moment, I thought that they would runaway, too, but no such luck. 

One of the monsters charged at Hayden, spewing the foul orange cloud. She jumped away, but not before the orange mist hit her in the shoulder. 

Hayden hissed. The cloud dissolved, but the sleeve on her shirt was rapidly dissolving. She ripped it off before it could do damage to her skin. 

But the _Amphisbaena_ wasn’t done yet. It swung its tail, attempting to attack her again from her blindside. 

“No!” I scream, temporarily distracting it. I was shaking, but I lunged myself at the monster. It shot its poisonous gas at me. Somehow, I managed to sidestep it and kept advancing. 

I did the natural thing and drove the dagger straight into the monster’s side. 

The _Amphisbaena_ exploded into dust, covering Hayden and me in a veil of nasty yellow dirt. 

I recoiled. “Ah, gross!” 

“You get used to it,” Hayden said, wiping monster dust out of her hair and eyes. 

I gagged. This was something I _definitely_ didn’t want to get used to. 

My heart still pounded. My mind was so fixed in replaying how I killed that monster that I hadn’t even realized that there was one last monster left standing. 

We stood together facing the _Amphisbaena_. It growled at us, clawing at the ground, successfully tearing it to shreds. The beast crouched like a panther ready to jump its prey. But before it could, it froze. 

A glittering tip stuck out of the base of its neck before it exploded like the rest of the _Amphisbaenae_. 

I stared dumbfounded at the spot where the monster was. For once, Hayden looked as surprised as I was. 

“Uh…” I waved in front of us. “Should we be worried about that?” 

Hayden shook her head. “I…” 

The air in front of us shimmered. The shadowy image of a girl materialized in front of us, solidifying into a definite form. It was the blonde girl I saw earlier in the common room. She wore normal clothes, jeans and an orange T-shirt. In one hand she held a dagger, like the one I had; in the other hand she was clenching a blue Yankees cap. 

She looked up at us; her grey eyes were startling. For a second, I thought she was going to attack us next. 

The scary girl looked us over. Her eyes widened in horror at me. 

“Gods,” she muttered. “It got you.” 

I blinked. “What?” I looked down at myself and realized what she meant. 

I hadn’t missed being hit by the _Amphisbaena’s_ poisonous gas. The right side of my shirt had been eaten away. My skin underneath was blotchy and red. When I touched it, pain shot through my body. I yelped, and would have collapsed if it weren’t for Hayden. 

Funny how something doesn’t hurt until you notice it. 

The blonde girl rushed towards us. “ _Amphisbaena_ poison is slower than other monsters’ poison, but if you’re not careful…” 

Hayden hefted my arm around her shoulders. “Is she going to be okay?” 

The girl nodded, but her features looked grim. “Yes. But we have to leave now if we’re going to get the antidote.” 

“You’re from that camp?” Hayden asked. 

“You know about the camp?” 

“Only a little—” 

“Hey,” I interrupted. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m starting to see black spots and I’m pretty sure that that’s not good.” 

“Sorry,” the blonde girl said and turned to Hayden. “You’re good with your axe. I’ll help her to a cab. Cover me in case anymore monsters show up.” 

Hayden didn’t protest as she handed me over to her. 

My head bobbed back, but I managed to stay awake. “Wha—where we going?” 

The girl’s hard eyes soften a degree. “To the only safe place for Demigods,” she explained. “We’re going to Camp Half-Blood.” 

~*~ 

Hayden managed to flag down a cab for us. We all squeezed into the back seat, with me wedged in the middle. The girl, who introduced herself as Annabeth, told the driver where to go. When he tried to protest, she folded a wad of cash into his hand. That would make almost anyone an obedient little lamb. 

Once the cab was driving, Annabeth fished out a baggie of odd food, broke off a piece and handed it to me. 

“Ambrosia,” she explained. “It’ll slow down the poison.” 

Magical healing food? Sure, why not? At this point I was inclined to believe anything. 

I ate it, expecting it to be sweet, like a brownie or a lemon square. Instead, it tasted like garlic bread and grilled fish. The kind Mom and Dad would make when Alana and I come home on holidays. The food warmed my whole body and eased the pain in my side. 

“What did it taste like?” Hayden asked, closing the glass divider between the driver and us. Her axe was back inside of her lavender bag. I guess it was like a Mary Poppins’ Bag of Holding deal. 

I told her what it tasted like, and she smiled. “Your dad makes awesome garlic bread.” 

I laughed, but as soon as I did pain shot through my side. 

“Don’t push yourself too much,” Annabeth warned. 

“Yeah,” I groaned. “Laughing hurts.” 

We drove in silence for a while as the cab sped down the road. For the first time I noticed how exhausted scratched up Hayden looked. Even though we were driving away from the monsters, she still looked tense. 

She turned and addressed Annabeth. “Why didn’t you help us sooner?” she asked, although she didn’t sound angry. “With your magic cap, you had the upper hand.” 

Annabeth twirled a ring on her necklace. I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now I noticed that it had about a half a dozen clay beads on it. 

“Cole told me that the two of you were pursued by your teacher,” she started to explain. “He said that she smelled of monsters.” 

“Wait a second,” I said. “Who’s Cole? And he can smell things, too?” 

“Cole’s a satyr from the camp—” 

“Satyr? You mean like the faun from the Chronicles of Narnia?” 

“Kai,” Hayden sighed, “That’s a movie; this is real life.” 

I nodded sarcastically. “Right, this is real life. Not a medically-induced hallucination.” 

“Anyway,” Annabeth continued, “Cole is in one of your classes. Gym, I think.” 

It finally dawned on me. “The small seventh grade kid.” 

“Right.” 

Hayden chimed in. “Fa—I mean Satyrs. They’re searchers, right?” 

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “Correct.” 

“Then shouldn’t Cole be the one escorting us to the camp?” 

“You know that, but I haven’t seen you at camp before.” 

Hayden fidgeted in her seat. “Uh, my father told me some things about it.” 

“Your dad?” I asked. She nodded solemnly. 

“Is your dad a Half-Blood?” Annabeth asked. 

“Something like that,” she mumbled, twirling a strand of her hair. Her shoulders slumped, and I could tell that she wasn’t going to open up about her dad again. 

Annabeth must’ve noticed that, too, because she went on with her story. “Anyway, Cole was able to I.M. me in the bathroom outside of the theater. It looked like he busted some pipes in the wall or something. He said that he tried to follow you, but your teacher wouldn’t let him leave. She got the other teachers to make sure that he couldn’t. 

“When I got to the auditorium, you two were already gone. I followed your teacher and managed to catch up to you guys. I would’ve jumped in sooner but you two were handling yourselves pretty well.” She turned towards Hayden. Her eyes held respect, but also a bit of curiosity. “I’ve never seen a Half-blood with a weapon like that. You fight well.” 

Hayden’s cheeks went pink. “Thanks.” 

She looked out the window for a quiet moment before saying, “Those monsters, the _Amphisbaenae_ … they wouldn’t attack us at the same time.” 

“Yeah, I noticed that, too.” I blinked the black spots out of my eyes. “It was like they didn’t know how to work together.” 

“ _Amphisbaenae_ are scavengers,” Annabeth explained. “They didn’t attack all at once because don’t normally kill their prey.” 

Something about being prey made my stomach queasy. 

“Then why did they try to kill us?” 

“Orders from your teacher,” she guessed. “She must have some sort of control over them. But, honestly, I’m not sure why she sent them after you. She must really hate you.” 

“Yeah,” I said dryly. “I noticed that, too.” 

Annabeth furrowed her brow. “Did she say anything to you before she unleashed the monsters?” 

I explained everything, beginning at when we left the auditorium. Hayden chimed in to add any details that I forgot to mention. 

When we were done, Annabeth was silent for a beat. She turned to Hayden. “Do you know what she could have meant by her ‘patron’?” 

Hayden shrugged. “Not a clue.” 

Annabeth twisted the ring on her necklace again, deep in thought. Her grey eyes seemed troubled. “I don’t think I’ve ever read a story about psycho teachers killing their students,” she said finally. “But…” 

“But what?” I inquired. 

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Right now we should worry about the last _Amphisbaena_ that’s out there. If the monsters really were under the teacher’s control, then there’s no doubt that it’ll come back looking for you.” 

Oh, great. More good news. It couldn’t just run away and stay gone; no, it just _had_ to come back. 

“Why did it run?” I ask Hayden. “What did you do to it?” 

She looked down at her boots. I was worried that I hit a sore topic. 

“In short,” Hayden said, “I scared it away.” 

“Oh.” I decided to leave it at that. 

We drove the rest of the way in silence. I would have liked to ask the Annabeth girl more questions like “Who are you?” or something more subtle like “You’re not taking us to your extremist cult, right?” but I was too exhausted to pay attention to any more explanations that she might give us. 

I stared out the window. I was surprised at how dark it had become so quickly. The city dissolved into trees with rolling green hills, wineries, and farms. I’ve never been this far down long island unless it was on a fieldtrip. 

My side throbbed dully. I tried not to think about the fact that I was poison and was slowly dying. My eyelids were growing heaving, and I was tempted to fall sleep, but was worried that I might… 

Nah, I thought. I wasn’t going to die. We were on our way to the place with the cure. I was going to be fine. 

I concentrated on the road in front of us. Occasionally, I would check behind to make sure that we weren’t being followed. So far so good. 

The cab arrived at the bottom of a hill when Annabeth decided that right here was a good place to get out. When the cabbie insisted he could take us further, she handed him an extra fat tip, and he didn’t object. The cab sped down the road, back into the city. 

“Come on,” Annabeth said. “Camp is just over the hill.” 

“We’re going over it?” I asked. 

“That’s the idea. Hayden was it? Would you—” 

A low, guttural snarl interrupted her. 

A dark blob floated over the road and hills behind us. It flew on small wings too quickly than what should have been possible. The last _Amphisbaena_. 

I starred at the quickly approaching monster. “That thing can fly with those stumpy chicken wings?” 

“Apparently so,” Hayden said. 

“Come on,” Annabeth repeated. “We need to get past that pine tree. We’ll be safe once we do.” 

That plan sounded better than dying, so we followed her up the hill. 

The pine tree we were heading to looked a million miles away, and the _Amphisbaena_ kept advancing, which, quite frankly, was pretty discouraging. 

I pushed myself harder, which wasn’t easy with my side burning. Running made my whole midsection feel like it was on fire. The pain shot to my eyes, causing my vision to blur. I kept moving. 

The monster was closing in on us. 

We were closer to the top of the hill by now. I could see the glow of whatever was behind it. 

Then, I did something so stupidly dumb it’ll make you hate me. 

I tripped. Over a stupid rock. And I screamed like a sissy when I fell (yes, I am ashamed). 

I hit the ground and got a mouthful of grass. The pain on my waist exploded tenfold. I blacked out for a second. Hayden helped me back up and let me lean on her for support. 

Annabeth unsheathed he dagger. “You guys keep going,” she said. “Get to the big blue house. They’ll help you there.” 

“We can’t just abandon you!” Hayden protested, and I agreed with her. If felt wrong to leave her after she did so much for us. 

Annabeth frowned at us. “This isn’t the time for—” 

Too late. 

The _Amphisbaena_ was maybe fifteen feet away when it shot a plume of poisonous gas at Annabeth. She rolled out of the way and charged towards it. She went to stab it in its scaly neck, but it simply dodged and swung its tail at Annabeth. She managed to jump out of the way before it got a bite out of her. 

Hayden gritted her teeth. She retrieved her axe and handed me the bag. “I’m going to help her. Don’t… please don’t die.” And with that she jumped into the fight, slashing at the monster. 

I stared in terrifying awe as the two took on the final monster. This one seemed larger and smarter than the others (of course the final boss had to be the biggest and the baddest). Watching it dodge their combined attacks, I had the horrible feeling that these things actually _learn_ from its mistakes. 

I felt like a loser not being able to help them at all. My best friend and a total stranger were risking their lives fighting this thing and I was powerless to help. I felt awful. 

My knees buckled, and I (again) collapsed onto the grass. I was losing energy and fast. My head dipped as I struggled to stay awake. I remembered the food that Annabeth gave me, and excitedly started to search through Hayden’s bag for it, but no avail. 

I decided that I wasn’t just going to watch Hayden and Annabeth fight; I was going to at least try to get help. 

Shakily, I stood—ignoring the pain— and trekked up the hill. I passed the pine and notice a glittering gold rug that hung low on the branches, and the pile of cables wrapped around the base of the tree. 

Below the top of the summit was dark, but I saw the big blue house that Annabeth had mentioned. I smiled, in spite of the pain. 

I took a step and heard a terrified scream. 

I was too slow to turn and see who it was. Pain clawed its way into my back, and I was violently shoved down the hill. The last thing I remember before blacking out was tumbling down the side of the hill, gasping for air.


	3. Chapter 3

When I came to, I was in a bed in a white room. 

At first, I had no idea where I was. Then I remembered: the _Amphisbaenae_ , and the fight on the hill. I was poisoned. And Hayden and that Annabeth girl … 

My gut twisted. Where were they now? 

I sat up on the plush bed. Surprisingly, moving wasn’t painful, and I didn’t feel like I was dying of poison anymore. 

I jumped when a voice said next to me, “Oh good. You’re up,” 

A sandy haired boy was sitting on a chair next to my bed. He wore an orange shirt, like Annabeth’s, and was reading a copy of the _Rolling Stone_ that looked like it was published in the 1970’s. 

“Where am I?” I asked. My mouth tasted like tin foil. 

“You’re in the infirmary,” the boy said, closing the magazine. “You got here sometime last night. Chiron and I were able to heal your scars and the poison that was in you.” 

I stared at him, grateful and a little curious as to how he was able to cure monster poison. “Thanks.” 

“No problem.” 

“Who’s Chiron?” 

“He’s the camp director,” he said simply. “Annabeth will want to know that you’re up.” 

“Are Annabeth and Hayden okay?” I asked. 

“They’re both perfectly fine.” 

I sighed in relief. 

“I better let Annabeth explains everything to you, though,” the boy continued, getting up. “I’m Will, by the way.” 

“Kai.” 

“Welcome to camp.” 

After Will left the room, I eased myself out of bed. The side where the _Amphisbaena_ poison hit me throbbed a bit, but otherwise didn’t hurt much. I stretched and noticed that I still had my damaged uniform shirt on, so a big chunk of my waist was exposed. My skin was back to normal, but I didn’t feel like walking around all day with a big hole in my shirt. The rips in the back of my shirt from where the _Amphisbaena_ attacked me were probably equally as embarrassing. 

“You look better,” a girl’s voice said. 

Annabeth stood by the door. She held an orange T-shirt in one hand and a water bottle filled with apple juice in the other. 

“I feel like I was hit by a car last night,” I admitted. “But yeah, I feel better.” 

“That’s good.” She handed me a shirt and the bottle of apple juice. “This will help perk you up. Just don’t drink all of it in one go.” 

I stared at the bottle in my hand. “Magical apple juice?” 

Annabeth cracked a small smile. “Maybe.” 

“Maybe?” That didn’t sound promising, but I took a tentative sip. I recoiled at the taste; it didn’t taste like apple juice. 

“So how is it?” Annabeth asked. 

“It tastes like burnt pizza with a Chinese food after taste.” 

She looked genuinely confused, which I’m guessing was a foreign expression on her face. “That’s nectar. It’s supposed to taste like warm memories.” 

“Oh!” Suddenly it dawned on me. “When my sister and I were eight, we tried to make breakfast for our parents, but we didn’t know how to cook, so we put a frozen pizza in the oven on, like, a million degrees. We ended up in an argument over something and forgot about the pizza. Long story short: the pizza tasted like dirt so my parents ended up ordering Chinese.” My heart warmed at the memory. I hadn’t thought about that day in years. 

“So you ate Chinese food for breakfast?” Annabeth asked, bemused. 

I shrugged. “My family is weird.” 

“Then you’ll fit right it. Go change, and I’ll give you the grand tour.” 

~*~ 

If I had to use only one word to describe Camp Half-Blood, I'd used “whoa.” 

There was a strawberry field, a huge forest surrounding the camp, and the glittering expanse of the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Cabins were here like a normal summer camp, sure, but they looked like they fell straight out of the Twilight Zone, each one more bizarre than the last. Two of them looked like his-and-hers bank buildings. One looked like a Vegas-style casino, another like a factory with brick walls and chimneys. They were arranged in a rectangle around a central fire. 

We passed by a building that looked like a hodgepodge of one of those old timey trains and an ancient Greek temple. 

“That’s the arts and craft building,” Annabeth explained. “Campers can build their own statues, swords, whatever you can think of.” 

I stopped in my tracks. “We’re allowed to make _swords_?” 

“Some campers do. Others get… hand-me-downs I’d guess you’d call them.” 

Hand-me-down melee weapons? I decided to leave it at that. 

Campers raced in sail boats on a huge lake. A few others were climbing a rock wall, and unless I was crazy, it looked like it was shaking violently and pouring lava. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a rider on a winged horse (a Pegasus, Annabeth called it) swooped over head, flying a little too low for comfort. 

Annabeth was a good tour guide. She showed me to the stables, the commons area, and the amphitheater, to name a few. She explained that Camp Half-Blood was mostly a summer camp, though some campers chose to stay all year. Her tone was calm and collected, no doubt trying to ease me into the weirdness, which wasn’t easy to do. By the end of the tour my mind was reeling from all the information. 

We ended up back by the strawberry fields and decided to sit and take a break. When the air blew it made the whole area smell fresh and sweet. 

I stared at the camp alive with activity. My expression must have been troubling because Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s a lot of information to process,” she said. “We’ve all been there.” 

“I don’t get it,” I admitted. “What’s all this about?” 

She sighed, like she was used to explaining this, but was never really excited about it. “Let me ask you a few things, okay?” 

“Sure.” 

“You mentioned your parents before,” she said carefully. “Is one of them your step-parent?” 

I bit back a snide remark. A lot of the time, people that I’ve met couldn’t believe that my dad was really _my dad_. Every time they said “Really? I had no clue” it made me angry. They never said it, but I knew that they thought that I looked too dark to be half-white, half-native Hawaiian. Unlike Alana and Max, who were the perfect blend of both our parents, I took after Mom more; my hair was dark brown and my facial features were similar to hers. The only thing I got from my dad were his blue eye, and barely. My eyes were a mix of green and blue, like they couldn’t determine what color they wanted to be. 

But Annabeth had never met my parents. She didn’t know what they looked like, and I knew it was stupid to get mad. 

“No,” I said. “They’re both my real parents.” 

“Are you positive?” Annabeth asked. “Have they ever said anything to you about it?” 

“I’m sure,” I said. “I have a sister.” 

“Is she younger or older?” 

“Fraternal twin.” I took one last sip of my nectar. This time, it tasted more like sweet-and-sour pork than burnt pepperoni. 

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of something like that. You’ll have to talk to Chiron.” 

“The camp director? Why doesn’t this Chiron guy explain all of this to me?” 

“He’s busy talking to your friend, Hayden. She said that there were things she wanted to sort out.” 

“What did she want to talk about?” I asked. 

“I’m not sure” Annabeth said. “Last night she was shaken up after you were attacked by the _Amphisbaena_. I could tell she was worried about you; this is the least I could do.” I got the feeling she wasn’t just talking about the tour. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Kaia,” she said. There was a cautious edge to her voice. “Do you know about the Greek gods?” 

I was confused, but I nodded. “Zeus, Aphrodite, Hades. You mean those old myths?” 

Thunder rolled off the Long Island shore. I glanced up at the sky, but it was perfectly clear. Weird. 

“Be careful, Kaia,” Annabeth warned. “Names have power. But you’re right. Do you know the stories about some of them having kids with mortals?” 

“Like Hercules and Theseus?” 

“Yes.” She paused for a moment, and I wondered where she was going with this. 

Finally she said, “The ancient Greek myths are all real. The gods are still around, and they have children with mortals; demigods. That’s what we are. Who _you_ are.” 

I kept waiting for her to yell “ _Psyche_!” and pie me in the face or something. But her face was completely serious. 

“Hold on,” I said. “You’re saying that everyone here is a half-god or something?” 

“Half- _blood_ ,” Annabeth corrected. “Or demigod, but not everyone. Some of the campers are Satyrs, like Cole, or nymphs.” 

I let this sink in. Gods, half-bloods. Satyrs and nymphs? It was all too ridiculous to believe. Still, a nagging voice in the back of my head was totally convinced. Did I believe in monsters? Sure, I’ve seen enough proof to believe that, but gods? 

“I have both of my parents,” I said. “I have a twin. If I’m a half-blood, why isn’t she here, too?” 

“Cole would have been able to smell if she were a demigod,” Annabeth said. “Satyrs have sharp noses and don’t usually make mistakes.” 

“But how can _I_ be a half-blood?” 

Annabeth looked down at the field, in deep thought. “I don’t know. But we’ll find out. Who knows, maybe your godly parent will claim you tonight.” 

“Maybe,” I grumbled. 

“You belong here, Kaia,” she said encouragingly. 

I twisted the water bottle; the crinkling noise was drowned out by the wind. “How can you know that?” 

“Because I know _you_.” Annabeth said that like she had said that line many times. “You probably have ADHD or dyslexia or both, right?” 

I stared at her. “How’d you know?” 

“We’re all like that,” she said. “A lot of us have been kicked out of multiple schools, too. My boyfriend, Percy—” Her cheeks went pink. “Well, he’s been kicked out of a lot of schools. He once shot a Civil War canon at his school bus on a field trip.” 

I laughed, which helped lessen my confusion and worry a bit. I could tell that Annabeth was at least trying to cheer me up, and I appreciated that. 

Annabeth got up and dusted grass off of her pants. “I got an idea,” she announced. “Come with me.” 

I stood. “Where’re we going?” 

She grinned mischievously. “I’m taking you sword shopping.” 

~*~ 

As we walked to her cabin’s armory, Annabeth told me that as a female demigod, I had the option of joining the Hunters of Artemis: an immortal band of female archers that followed the goddess around the country hunting monsters and game alike. It sounded like a pretty sweet deal, except for one little thing. 

“No dating boys ever?” I asked. “Not even a little?” 

She answered affirmative, and I decided to take a rain check on that. 

Annabeth’s cabin wasn’t as showy as the other cabins, just a modest-looking gold and blue building with an owl carving at the top. 

“The owl is a symbol of Athena, right?” I asked. 

Annabeth nodded proudly. “Correct.” 

We headed to the side of the cabin to a gardening shed, but instead of hoes, rakes, and shovels, it held spears, swords, and— 

“Is that a gun,” I asked, pointing. 

Annabeth glanced at it like it was no big deal. “Yeah, but I don’t think a pistol is really your style.” 

“Agreed.” 

“All demigods need a weapon,” she told me. “Most of us have swords. Some of us use spears.” 

“You use a knife,” I pointed out. 

She pursed her lips. “I don’t know. Swords are better because they have a longer reach. With a knife, you have to be quick.” 

I thought about the monster I killed last night. Sure I had killed it with Hayden’s dagger, but I hadn’t been swift enough and I got poisoned. Some distance via a sword would’ve been nice. 

“You’re right,” I said, and started to browse through the weapons. I looked pasted the spears; I doubted I would be able to use it effectively, and besides I’d rather have a weapon I could swing like a club. It felt more secure. 

I picked up a sword with a curved blade that was heavy in my hand. I put it back and continued searching. A sword caught my attention from the corner of my eye. Curious, I picked it up and almost had a hernia. 

“Why is this one pink?” I demanded. The sword’s sheath was bright Barbie pink, decorated with little hearts and stars. I pulled it out and the blade was the same bronze as Annabeth’s knife, but I could’ve sworn it had a faint pink aura around it. The pink leather grip was also embedded with heart designs. It was burning through my corneas. 

Annabeth stared at it, equally dumbfounded as I was. “I have no idea. Maybe it was from the Aphrodite cabin.” 

I shivered. “After this, I’m burying that.” I hid it from the sun light behind a bunch of other swords and spears. 

Something nicked the back of my hand and I hissed. I looked for the culprit and found one sword that didn’t have a sheath. I grabbed it and tried it out. Surprisingly, it felt perfect in my hands. Not too heavy, not too light. 

“This one,” I murmured. “I like this one.” 

Annabeth stared at the sword unfavorably, though the sword looked normal enough. It was a classic Greek sword, with a small wave design carved on the blade. Something shiny and blood red was embedded into the flat pommel; I recognized it as sea glass. Greek writing was sloppily etched onto the cross guard. I was startled to find that I could read it easily: one side read _fury_ , the other _waves_. 

“I’m not so sure,” Annabeth said. “I know this sword. It was owned by pirates. There’s a bad history behind it.” 

“It doesn’t look like a pirate sword,” I said, drawing from less than subpar knowledge of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. 

“A lot of pirates were demigods, like Blackbeard, the son of Ares. They all had swords similar to this one.” She pointed to the sword I was holding. “However, the Mist might have changed how mortals saw them, aligning the sword’s image to the standard pirate sword of the day.” 

“Oh,” I said. I was still weirded out with the whole Mist thing. “So this place will just let crazed fourteen year olds carry swords.” 

“You’ll be trained.” 

“Trained?” 

“To fight monsters,” Annabeth said. “They’ll continue to come after you, and it’ll be much worse that last night.” 

I was poisoned my giant snake-chicken monster and was on the verge of death. I didn’t really want to think about what could be worse than that. 

Annabeth continued, “Once you know who you are, it’ll be easier for _them_ to know. We have to fight monsters so we can survive in the mortal world. That’s what all of this is for.” 

All of this. 

I looked at the camp around me. The climbing wall, canoeing, Pegasi riding, sword training, Greek mythology; all of these crazy amazing things around me were going to teach me how to survive? The idea was so bizarre, I couldn’t really comprehend it. But Annabeth explained everything with such conviction that I couldn’t help but think that she may be right. 

“You can leave your sword here in the shed,” Annabeth said. “At least until your determined and have your own chest.” 

“Determined?” I asked. 

“It means that we know who your godly parent is. Since we’re not sure, you’re undetermined for know.” 

So many questions bonked around in my head until I was torn out of my thoughts by a boy’s voice. 

“Annabeth!” 

We turned. Two dark haired boys headed our way from across the green. Annabeth regarded the shorter boy quizzically before looking at the other. She smiled so warmly, I thought that the taller boy had to be her boyfriend, Percy. 

When the pair got to us, the taller boy grabbed Annabeth by the hand and kissed her on the cheek. “Hey,” he said. “I heard what happened. You all right?” 

“I’m fine,” Annabeth said. “We’re taking a tour through camp.” 

She motioned to me, and the guy looked as though he hadn’t noticed me standing there before. He had bright sea green eyes with a care free look that I found strangely familiar. “Percy,” Annabeth said, “this is Kaia. Kaia, Percy and Nico.” 

The shorter boy extended his hand towards me. “Nico di Angelo.” 

“Hi,” I said, and my heart skipped a beat. 

Unlike the other campers who wore orange T-shirts, Nico wore a black shirt with dancing skeletons instead. What was once probably olive skin looked ghostly and pale; and his hair was adorably messy. 

And God, he was cute. 

I realized that my mouth was hanging open like a doofus. He was giving me an expecting look. My ears burned. 

“K-Kaia.” I shook his hand; it was as cold as ice. “But you know that. You can call me Kai if you want or whatever.” 

_Smooth_. 

Percy smiled. “Hey, welcome to camp,” 

“Thanks.” 

He glanced down at the sword in my hand, which I was pointing it haphazardly in his direction. I almost forgot that I was holding it. 

“Sorry!” I stabbed the sword into the dirt. “There, that’s safer, sorta.” 

They all raised an eyebrow at me, but recovered just as quickly. 

“So Nico,” Annabeth said after a beat, “I’m surprised to see you here.” 

“I'm actually only staying for awhile,” he said. “I'll be leaving next week.” 

“Really?” Percy asked. “Where are you going to go?” 

Nico shifted on his feet. “I'm going go to the Underworld to see my dad. Check out a few cemeteries. The usual.” He didn't meet Percy's eyes. I got the feeling he was going to do more than he let on, but it was none of my business. 

“Oh, okay.” Percy sounded crestfallen, like he didn't want Nico out by himself, but also like that's what he came to expect. “Well, I’m glad you decided to come. You'll be here for Capture the Flag.” 

I blinked. “Capture the Flag? Is this normal Capture the Flag? Or some extreme Ninja Warrior type Capture the Flag?” 

Percy laughed. “I guess you could say it’s the second one.” 

“Should I be nervous?” 

“Not really,” Nico said. “Hardly anyone dies.” 

I looked at him. “Don't say it like that. That’s somehow worse.” 

“You'll be fine,” Percy assured me. “Tell you what; you can be on my team and I’ll help you out. Who’s your godly parent?” 

“She’s an undetermined, Percy,” Annabeth said gently. 

Percy’s brow furrowed. “Really? How old are you?” 

“Fourteen,” I said. “Why?” 

“The gods were supposed to claim their children by the time they’re thirteen. That was the deal that was made.” He sounded pretty miffed. 

“What deal?” 

“Don’t worry,” Annabeth said to both of us. “With luck, Kaia will be claimed by tonight.” 

“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. “That’s great.” 

Annabeth put a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “I’m taking her to see Chiron. See you at lunch?” 

Percy grinned. “It’s a date.” 

He kissed her again, and I couldn’t help but notice Nico wincing, as if he had been slapped. 

~*~ 

The big house was a huge four story farm house painted baby blue that was right across from the volleyball court. On the porch, a girl and two men were playing cards at a table. One of the men was in a wheelchair with a blanket over his lap. He had brown hair, a scruffy beard, and wore a brown tweed jacket. The other man was smaller but portlier with a loud Hawaiian shirt with some kind of animal print. A satyr stood beside him, nervously offering a bowl of grapes whenever the man beckoned with a wave of his hand. I tried not to stare at his furry lower goat half, but I couldn’t help it. 

(I know, I know; I’m rude. But what was _your_ reaction when you saw your first full-blown satyr?) 

I wondered why the satyr didn’t sit in the extra chair. Then I noticed a pair of cards floated eye-level above the table, like they were being held by an invisible card player. 

_Um… sure_? 

“Hayden!” I said, trying to take in all the weirdness. 

She looked up from her cards and grinned. “Hey, Kai.” She wore the same orange T-shirt that Annabeth had given me along with a fresh new pair of jeans. 

“Chiron,” Annabeth said, motioning with her hand to point out who was who, “this is Kaia; Kaia, Chiron. And this is Mr. D.” 

“Hello,” I said. 

The man in the wheelchair, Chiron, smiled at me. “I suppose it's a tad bit late, but welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Kaia.” 

The pudgier guy, Mr. D, snorted and tossed some game chips into the center of the table. 

“Mr. D,” Chiron said patiently. 

“Oh, very well,” Mr. D sighed, not looking up from his cards. “Welcome, welcome. Words cannot express how happy I am that you’ve arrived safely. There, happy?” 

Words could not express the amount of sarcasm in his greeting. 

He glared at me with blood shot eyes. His face was fat and puffy like a baby, although not nearly as cute. 

“That sounded disingenuous,” he retorted. 

“I assure you that it wasn’t.” 

Mr. D looked at me for a second, before rolling his eyes and returning to his game. 

“You must excuse Mr. D,” Chiron said. “I’m afraid I put him in a rather bad mood from winning three games in a row.” 

Mr. D grunted and reached for the bowl of grapes, making the satyr flinch. 

“But no matter,” Chiron continued. “From what I’ve heard you’ve been through quite a rough night.” 

I wasn’t sure what to say. Do I shrug it off and pretend like it was no big deal, or do I tell the truth, that I was utterly scared out of my mind?     

Chiron inclined his head in understanding. “I assumed that Annabeth has explained everything to you?” 

“She did, but…” 

“Let me guess,” Mr. D chimed in, “another little nonbeliever?” 

There was a dangerous edge to his tone of voice that made me hesitate answering his question. The satyr shook his head at me, his eyes warning me to stay quiet. 

“I can assure you,” Chiron said, “that the gods—the ancient Greek gods—are very real.” He sat down his playing cards, jotted down some numbers on a legal pad, and grinned. “I believe the game is mine.” 

Hayden and Mr. D groaned in unison. The invisible hands let go of the cards, dropping them onto the table like they had a bit of an attitude. 

“You’re too good at this, lord Chiron!” Hayden said. 

Chiron’s eyes twinkled mysteriously. “Well, I’ve had plenty of years to practice, my dear.” 

Mr. D mumbled something under his breath about cheating horse men. I had no clue what that meant, but I didn’t question it. 

“Chiron,” Annabeth said. “I have to go teach Ancient Greek lessons. Would you mind taking over for me?” 

“Not at all, Annabeth,” he said. 

She regarded me. “Don’t worry,” she said simply, as if those two words conveyed everything she wanted to say. Annabeth inclined her head in Hayden’s direction before jogging off the porch and down the yard. 

Chiron turned to me and smiled. “Sit, child. We have much to discuss.” 

I looked to Hayden, who nodded at me reassuringly. I sat down cautiously, wondering if I was sitting on the invisible player.  The chair felt like a chair and not a stranger’s lap, so I relaxed a bit. 

“Katie, was it?” Mr. D asked. He was shuffling the playing cards in his hands. 

I frowned. “It’s Kaia, actually.” 

He waved away my response. “Whatever. Can you play pinochle?” 

“A little.” I said. “Why?” 

“Because we need a fourth player,” he said, matter-of-factly, passing cards around the table. 

“Oh, okay.” 

We played pinochle for a while in an uncomfortable silence. I knew the rules from years of playing with Nana and Alana since we were nine. So far, I thought I was doing pretty well. 

Eventually, I had to break the tension. I figured Chiron could answer some of my questions. “So, Mr. Chiron.” 

Chiron smiled. “No need for formalities, dear.” 

“Right.” I fidgeted in my seat. 

“I know this all can be hard to except,” Chiron said, as if he could read my mind. “Gods aren’t always easy to believe in.” 

I laughed dryly. “I can believe that.” 

Mr. D grunted indignantly. The Satyr behind him looked pale. 

“Kai,” Hayden said. “Mr. D _is_ a god. You might want to be less…snarky.” 

I looked at the pudgy man in the tasteless Hawaiian shirt. _He_ was a god? 

Mr. D glared at me. “If I were you, girl, I’d listen to your friend. She has some sense.” 

For an instant, I could’ve sworn that a purplish fire glowed in his eyes. I couldn’t explain it, but a nervous sensation trickled down my spine. God or no god, I didn’t want to make this guy mad. 

I gulped and mumbled an apology, but Mr. D didn’t really seem to care. 

“So, Chiron,” I tried again, “Hayden and I won’t have to stay long, right? What about my parents? What do they think happened to us?” 

Chiron rearranged the card in his hands. “It was a simple matter of a phone call. Hayden supplied the telephone numbers, and I called to inform both your school and your parents that the two of you were recruited to tour a private school for, well, gifted students.” 

“And they believed a crazy lie like that?” 

“Of course,” he said as if it were no big deal. “The Mist can fool people into believing and excepting almost anything.” 

“Of course it can,” I muttered. 

“It'll all make more sense in due time,” Chiron said. “Most heroes are skeptical when they first learn of the gods.” 

“But I have both of my parents and a twin.” 

Chiron looked confused, but not as much as I expected. 

I told him the same story that I told Annabeth. The kind older man listened intently, stroking his beard and nodding every once in a while. 

When I was done, Chiron was quiet for a moment. His brows were furrowed, as if contemplating something I said. “Your story sounds familiar.” 

I frowned. “Seriously? How?” 

“The hero Heracles—you probably know him by his Roman name, Hercules—he also had a twin brother, Iphicles, who was not a child of Zeus.” 

“How is that…?” I shook my head. “Never mind. I don't wanna know.” 

Chiron chuckled. “That is probably for the best. The gods tend to have, ah, unusual escapades. No offense, Mr. D.” 

Mr. D shrugged. “None taken. I can’t say that you’re wrong.” 

I shivered, and decided not to think too deeply about it. 

“So is that the case?” I asked. “One of my parents is not really my parent?” 

“Sadly, that seems to be the case,” Chiron confirmed. 

I swallowed and stared at the game chips in the center of the table. I didn’t know whether I believed in all this god business or not, but being told that one of my parents wasn’t really my parent with such certainty put a bad taste in my mouth. 

“In any case,” Chiron continued, “we will get you situated into your cabin as soon as Argus comes back from your school with your belongings.” 

“What about Hayden?” I turned to her. “Annabeth said you stayed behind to talk to Chiron. Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, don’t worry.” She was staring at her cards, probably to avoid looking me in the eye. “I’ll explain it later, okay?” 

I didn’t understand what was so bad that she couldn’t tell me. It rubbed salt into the wound to know that she was keeping another secret from me. 

Chiron placed his cards on the table and put a hand on my shoulder. “I can't guarantee much, I'm afraid. But know that this camp is safe. Trust in the training and in time, believing will come.” 

I didn't believe it, but I said okay anyway. 

A kind light twinkled in Chiron's eye. He flipped his cards around and tallied up his points on is notepad. “It seems that I’ve won again.” 

We played Pinochle for a while after that. And each time we got our butts kicked by Chiron. 

Argus and two other satyrs came back with our stuff around late afternoon. I was told that outside food wasn’t allowed into camp, but Argus saved my “mortal money.” He handed it to me in an envelope and winked the eye on his chin. 

Oh, by the way, Argus had a hundred eyes all over his body. Chiron had warned me, but I was still pretty shocked. I hoped he didn’t notice me staring at the eyeballs on his feet (but I’m pretty sure he had). 

One of the satyrs escorted me to the Hermes cabin. I hoped that Hayden would come, at least to see me off, but she stayed behind so Mr. D could teach her the “art of Pac-Man”. I got the feeling that something was up, but I didn’t say anything. The satyr carted me away before I could tell the story of how Pac-Man got its name (a funny anecdote I heard from my uncle. Apparently the satyr knew, too). 

“Mr. D is a _huge_ Pac-Man fan,” he said nervously. “I don’t want to see him change you into a dolphin for upsetting him.” 

“Can’t have that,” I said. 

The satyr took me to the only normal looking cabin at camp. It was a simple wooden cabin, nothing flashy. It looked beaten up and lived in. I got the feeling a lot of campers have been in and out of here. 

“The snakes on the pole with wings,” I said, pointing at the symbol above the door. “Isn’t that the symbol of Hernia? No! Hermit?” 

The satyr frowned. “It’s _Hermes_ , but yes. The symbol is called a caduceus.” 

He dumped—I mean _left_ —me with the head counselors of the cabin. The two boys, who introduced themselves as Travis and Connor Stoll, looked so alike I mistook them for twins. They were snarky fast-talkers who looked like trouble makers. In other words, they were my kind of guys. 

My other cabin mates were pretty cool, too. They didn’t seem like my presence was bothering them much. Most of them had similar features—pointy ears, eyebrows that gave that “oh, _really_?” expression— that made me think for a moment that maybe they all _were_ brothers and sisters. 

All the bunks were full, so I had to share the floor with a few other kids. I plopped my box of belongings and new sleeping bag onto my own little section of the floor and hid my money in my shoe. I didn’t know much about Hermes, but I think I’ve heard about him taking a liking to stealing. I didn’t think that those kinds of traits could be passed on, but I wasn’t taking any chances. 

All of my cabin mates hung around talking and palling around with each other. I wasn’t a shy type, but I wasn’t too eager to socialize yet. Right then, I just wanted to let the day settle in. 

Was this my new life from now? Sleeping on the floor, training to fight monsters and being taught about gods as if they existed. Would I be able to leave? Would I get to see my family again? 

Of course I’d get to leave and see my family again. Annabeth said that some campers only visited camp in the summer. I would get claimed or whatever and I’d be able to get back to my old life. No part of me intended on staying at camp permanently. 

Looking back, my hopes were stupidly optimistic. 

~*~ 

Dinner was held in the open pavilion next to the beach. Every once in a while, a breeze came through and carried the crisp salt-water smell with it. Like the cabins, the tables were sectioned off by campers’ godly parent, which explained why some tables were more crowded than others. To my surprise, I saw Mr. D at a table with a few satyrs, and a blonde boy and a girl who looked about ten years old.   

In front, Chiron sat on a horse behind a table on a raised section. No, he wasn’t on a horse, he _was_ the horse. From the waist up he was a middle aged guy, but waist down he was a white stallion. The sight was so jarring that I forgot to breath. 

Chiron was talking calmly to Hayden, who looked pretty nervous. She kept glancing at the other campers who seemed to take notice of her right away. 

A kid from the Hermes cabin said to me, “Hey, she’s your friend, right?” 

“Yes,” I said. 

“Why does she get to sit up there with Chiron?” 

I said that I didn’t know. The Hermes kid rolled their eyes. Apparently didn’t give a suffice answer. 

The Hermes table was more packed than the other tables. We had to squeeze in on the bench like a pack of sardines. 

When it looked like the entire camp was there, Chiron pounded his hoof on the table. Immediately, everyone went silent. 

Chiron raised his goblet. “To the gods!” 

Everyone repeated the cheer. I was a bit late in the cheer and my table mates ending up ribbing me about it. 

My goblet was empty, but Connor (or Travis. It couldn’t tell them apart yet) told me to ask it for any drink I wanted. I figured there was no harm in trying. “Dr. Pepper.” 

Instantly, the brown liquid filled my cup. 

I grinned and took a sip. The taste was sharper than ordinary Dr. Pepper, but that made it taste all the more great. 

Girls in Ancient Greek dresses came up with trays and trays of the most delicious looking food I ever saw: fresh fruits and vegetables, barbeque brisket, pizza, freshly baked bread, you name it, it was here. 

My stomach growled in anticipation. I loaded my plate up with a little bit of everything. 

Suddenly, everyone took their plates and went towards the brazier of fire that sat in the center. Travis (or Connor) said that at each meal we burned a portion of our food to honor the gods. Apparently the gods liked the smell of burning food. I went along with it; when in Rome, or Greece I guess. 

Everyone said a little prayer or the name of their godly parent before scraping in the juiciest parts of their dinner. I thought of what to say, but before I could it was my turn. 

I cleared my throat. “To, ah, to whom it may concern: here.” I scraped some fruit and barbecue into the fire. A fresh scent caught me by surprise. The smell of wild flowers, an ocean breeze, and a dozen different foods that should smell pretty gross together but didn't floated to the sky on a trail of smoke. 

Dinner, of course, was great. I got along well with my cabin mates; we swapped prank stories and joked around with each other. 

Every once in a while I’d glance over to Hayden who seemed to be doing better. She was talking to Chiron and seemed to be more at eased with herself. 

I noticed Nico and Percy were sitting at their own individual tables. I frowned. They looked lonely, sectioned off from the rest of camp. I wondered why the tables were divided up like the cabins. It didn’t seem fair. 

About halfway through dinner, a boy at my table was claimed. I almost missed bowing to him with the rest of camp because I was staring at the glowing green and gold wheel of fortune (the symbol of Tyche) that spun over his head, occasionally setting off miniature fireworks before it faded. 

When dinner was over, Chiron raised his hand for silence. 

Mr. D stood up at his table. He sighed. “Once again, hello to all you brats—I mean campers. I guess I should welcome our two new campers, Katie Fawcett and Haley Kasuboski. And I suppose some of you are wondering why one of them is sitting with Chiron tonight.” 

He picked up his goblet, and took a nice long sip from it. He casually swished his drink around in his cup as if he had forgotten that he had an audience, or he simply didn’t care. 

Mr. D looked up at us in dull surprise. “Oh, well, I suppose Chiron will explain.” 

He sat back in his seat, and I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to clap or not. 

Chiron cleared his throat. “Thank you, Mr. D. I know some of you are already aware of Kaia and Hayden’s rather sporadic arrival last night, though I suppose I should get right to what I know you’re all wondering. Hayden sits with me because her divine parent, Lady Thetis, goddess of water, does not have a table nor a cabin built. Construction will go up tomorrow. Until then, Hayden will stay at cabin thirteen.” 

In that moment, pandemonium broke loose. Everyone was asking a million questions all at once. I looked around at everyone. What was so bad about cabin thirteen? 

Through the commotion, I caught Nico’s reaction. His mouth hung open almost comically, but he looked just as shocked as everyone else. 

Chiron’s voice cut above the noise. “Calm, campers, calm. Hayden is merely a descendent of Lord Hades, the first legacy in several years. There is no need for alarm.” 

That seemed to calm everyone down a bit, but Hayden still looked uncomfortable with everyone’s attention directed at her. After a beat, the camp settled into quiet murmurs. 

Chiron forced a smiled. “All right then. That’s enough excitement for one meal. I think I speak for everyone when I say it’s time for s’mores.” 

~*~ 

Strangely enough, the campfire was the strangest part of the day (okay, it was in the top five). The fire was not only was huge, but it changed colors to reflect the camp's overall mood. At first it started out as a dim purple, then turned into a surreal shade of gold. Like the cabins and the tables, campers were grouped together under banners representing various gods. 

In the beginning, everyone wanted to talk to Hayden about her “special situation”. She gave them all very short, very vague answers.  Luckily, I was able to save her from her adoring crowd and we were able to sit together. 

Nico, who was also in the Hades cabin, sat with us, but was quiet for the entire time. He stared solemnly into the flames, the colors danced in the reflection of his eyes. 

Some kids with guitars and lyres led the entire camp in a cheesy song about all the monsters on a farm. The cheery mood was rather infectious and I found myself singing along, even though I didn't know the words. Hayden looked quite embarrassed of me. I was glad to spend some time with her since coming to Camp Half-blood. I could pretend everything was normal, that we were at a normal summer camp. That everything was normal. 

After the last song, Chiron came forward wishing everyone a good night and dismissed us all to our respective cabins. 

Before we cleared out, I was able to talk to Hayden one last time. “Hey, I wanna talk for real, okay?” 

She looked unsure about it, but nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, you bet.” 

She shuffled to the glowing green fires of cabin thirteen along with Nico. I wasn’t sure who looked the most uncomfortable. 

It was lights out in the Hermes’s cabin, but a few of my cabin mates stayed up and were whispering to each other. 

I lay awake in my sleeping bag, unable to fall asleep. I was tempted to get my stuffed Panda bear, Chalk, out of my box to use as a pillow, but didn’t want to deal with the taunting I would get in the morning. 

The day kept replaying in my mind. Monsters, gods, demigods;  I didn’t really belong here, but everyone I met today acted like being here was perfectly normal; like monsters were an everyday occurrence and the existence Greek gods were a matter of fact. 

Then again, maybe they were all crazy. 

But as much as I felt that I was in a foreign land, I didn’t really feel out of place. Not quite at home, but I wasn’t a fish out of water either. A small part of me did believe that everyone was telling the truth; that the gods were real. 

Maybe _I_ was the crazy one. 

_Go with the flow_ , my dad once told me. It was part of his “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy.  Dad has never given me wrong advice before, so I figured, what the heck? I’ll play along until this all blows over. 

Slowly, my cabin grew silent until all I could hear were the growls from monsters in the woods, the sound of waves lapping against the shore of the beach, and the occasional snoring from someone in my cabin. My eyelids grew heavy as I started to follow the cabin’s example.


	4. Chapter 4

I have to admit, going to camp definitely beat going to school. Granted the weirdness factor was still there; one of my classes was monster assault techniques, after all. And being taught by nymphs and satyrs was definitely surreal. 

But for the most part lessons were taught by the head counselors of each cabin. I spent my days in foot racing, wrestling, archery, you name it. 

Okay, so I got my butt handed to me in wrestling by the scary kids in the Ares cabin, and I managed to hit everything but the bull’s eye in archery, but I was getting the hang of Ancient Greek and for the first time I found reading interesting. I excelled at canoeing, which was something I always had a knack for since my dad taught me when I was younger. 

I was good foot racing, too, though I wasn't faster than the dryad instructors, who were in fact trees. However it was Hayden who ended up smoking the dryads every single time. Even the instructors were impressed. Not too many campers could beat them in a race. 

Back at school, Hayden and I were the reigning queens of extreme kickball. With her speed and my rather impressive kicking power, we were the ultimate duo. Still, I never knew that she was _that_ fast. She could’ve given Jesse Owens a run for his money. 

Swordplay was fun, and I was surprised that I was pretty good at it. A boy from the Ares cabin taught the class during the week, alternating with Percy who would teach on the weekends. 

During the week, Nico and I talked a few times. He was nice, but kind of a loner, even though some of the other campers were happy to see him. But Nico seemed to be fine with being alone, so I was happy to give him his space (honest). 

I tried not to think about Mrs. Tot who was still out there and most likely still intended to kill me. I knew that all of her monsters were dead. It’s not like she can go to the pet store and get more, right? At least that’s what I thought before I learned that monsters could reform from the pits of pure evil known as Tartarus. Not exactly what I would call good news. 

As the days wore on, I learned more and more about the gods. None of them really caught my eye as to who my godly parent might be. I had none of powers that some demigods had, and I wasn’t exceptionally phenomenal at any particular activity. My aim was off, so I could cross Apollo off my list. I didn’t have a way with plants like the Demeter and Dionysus kids. I wasn’t as smart as the Athena kids and I definitely wasn’t a child of Hephaestus. The first day that I tried to weld something—a home, sweet home sign on a chunk of marble— the tools went haywire and I almost succeeded in painfully branding myself. 

And as much as I liked the kids in the Hermes cabin, I didn’t really feel like they were my siblings. I didn’t feel a connection to Hermes, either. I wasn’t a thief or all that clever. 

Kids came and went out of the Hermes cabin every day, each getting claimed and relocated to their godly parent’s cabin. The list of campers who were in line next for a bunk slowly dwindled until it was my turn. I was finally able to keep my belonging in a trunk with a lock. I didn’t have a lot in my room at Saint Catherine's, just some casual clothes, a few family photos, two comic books, and my stuffed Panda bear, Chalk, that I’ve had for a hundred years. 

I remembered when I first got Chalk. When I was little, back in Hawaii, my dad took me to the zoo. I remember it being a really fun day, but a lot of weird things happened, too, like I swear I heard a llama speak to me. Dad got me a stuffed panda, even though there were none at the zoo. After we got home, my dad had vanished into thin air. My parents came back later; apparently they were out searching for me and they were surprised that I was home. They came to the conclusion that I was hiding. 

Another time something strange happened to me my grandfather (my mom’s dad) was teaching Alana and me how to surf. A tiger shark about twenty feet long swam up to us and nuzzled my leg like a docile puppy. I screamed and flailed and ended up kicking the shark in the nose. It retreated as fast as it came. 

A few other things happened like that when I was a kid that I tended to not think about. But now the memories were all flooding back to me. I knew there had to be an important clue in there, but I couldn’t quite figure it out… 

I thought about my parents and Alana a lot. I was glad that they knew I was okay, but I wish I could call and tell them the truth. I wanted my parents to help me understand what was going on. But they wouldn’t believe me anyway. Besides, what _could_ I tell them? 

Every night at the sacrificial brazier at dinner, I would throw in the best parts of my dinner, silently pleading for an answer, for any shred of clarity. 

Nothing came. 

~*~ 

Hayden and I were on strawberry picking duty that Wednesday. We sat by the strawberry bushes that baked in the afternoon sun as a satyr played on his pan pipes on the other side of the field, (which sounded suspiciously like “Smells like Teen Spirit”) making the strawberries to grow like mad. 

We talked about the different gods, and I found out that Hayden actually met a few, like Triton and a bunch of other sea gods (I refrained from telling any Little Mermaid jokes, by the way). I danced around the subject of who my godly parent might be, and we didn’t talk about Mrs. Tot. 

I told Hayden about the prank that Travis and Conner had pulled earlier that week. They teamed up with some of the members of the Hecate cabin to magically alter all of the clothes in the Aphrodite cabin. Their pants were turned into ugly gingham patterns and their shirts were replaced with vertical stripes with colors that clashed. All of their shoes were changed to clunky orthopedic clogs, and their perfume and cologne smelled like motor oil and old garbage. As a result, Travis, Conner, and the Hecate kids were assigned to kitchen duty for the rest of the month and the entire Aphrodite cabin refused to go outside until the spell faded. 

“That’s why the air around here seemed less vapid,” Hayden joked. 

We both laughed at that. 

“So,” she said tentatively, “how do you like camp so far? 

I shrugged. “It’s fine, you know. Learning how to fight monsters and sword fighting. I got to admit; a week ago I would _not_ have seen this coming.” 

I was only half joking but Hayden slumped her shoulders. “Kai, I didn’t mean to drag you into this. Until last Friday, I didn’t even know you _were_ a demigod.” 

She sighed and put down her strawberry basket. “I get these vague… premonitions sometimes, and during Parent’s Night, I knew you were going to be in danger. I didn’t know why until Annabeth mentioned that that satyr smelled that you were a demigod, too.” 

I remembered that night last Friday night. Hayden had gone stiff for a moment, staring into space. That must have been what she meant. 

“That’s what happened,” I guessed. “You saw into the future? You’re psychic?” 

“Not exactly,” she said. “It’s a little different. Once in a while I can see the definite future, but mostly I get a feeling of what _might_ happen. It’s like I can see a dozen different outcomes at once every once in a while.” 

“Is this a Thetis power?” 

“Sort of. A few sea gods have the power of foresight and pass it to their children.” 

“So Thetis—your mom, isn’t MIA?” 

Hayden laughed dryly. “No. Far from it. She's actually in my life more than she should be, but Thetis was never good at ignoring her kids.” 

I frowned. “You say it like it’s a bad thing. She's your mom, after all.” 

“Kai, the gods have limitations. Favoritism towards their children is against ancient laws.” 

“Didn't Thetis dunk her kids in fire to give them immortality or something? That sounds like it breaking some laws.” 

Hayden waved it away. “That’s a whole other story. If we get into that, then we’ll get into… other things.” 

“What other things?” I asked. 

I regretted asking that question. 

“It’s nothing,” she mumbled. 

We changed the subject after that. We talked about our classes and swordplay for a while. Hayden wasn’t pleased at the fact that she couldn’t use her axe and wasn’t very good at the sword. I finally was able to ask a question that had been bothering me for a few days. 

“What happened that night when you made the _Amphisbaena_ run away? I know you said you scared it away, but what does that mean?” 

Hayden sighed again. I was afraid that I made her mad and hit yet another sore subject. 

But she said, “Every time I kill a monster the axe, my _Ono_ , absorbs their essence. With some specials words, I can use the souls I collected to induce fear onto a subject.” 

She looked at me warily. I nodded encouragingly for her to continue. 

“With a few, I can create a basic fight or flight response, but with enough monster souls, I could induce a fear so intense that the subject would die instantly. That is, if I don’t burn out. I’ve never seen that power in action, though.” 

It was quiet for a moment. I tried to imagine Hayden being so powerful that she could make any monster die at will. The thought made me shudder. Not because Hayden’s power scared me, but because the very idea was unnerving. 

I asked the obvious question. “Where did you get a weapon like that?” 

“My father,” she said. “It's kind of a family heirloom. It was passed down to the firstborn in my family for since the nineteen twenties.” 

I couldn't help but think how strange it was to inherit a battle axe as a birthright. The most I knew that I would inherit was some fine china and a Frank Sinatra record. 

“Are you afraid of me now?” Hayden asked suddenly. 

I blinked. “What? Why would I be?” 

“You’ve seen me kill monsters. You know what I can do. Everyone else here is already kind of scared of me. After all, I _am_ a descendent of… Hades.” 

“So?” I said. “What’s wrong with Hades, anyway?” 

Hayden looked at me funny. “He’s the god of the dead and the lord of the underworld. He’s not the most pleasant god.” 

_Duh_ , I thought. The reason was kind of obvious. “That has nothing to do with you. It’s not like it your fault he’s your great-plus granddaddy or anything. And besides, people were always kind of afraid of you. That’s nothing new.” 

I meant the last part as a joke, but was afraid that she might not have understood. Fortunately, she cracked a smiled. 

“And you make people around you uncomfortable,” she quipped. 

“You see?” I grinned. “Freaks of a feather herd together, or whatever.” 

Hayden laughed, and for a moment she seemed like her old self. Then she froze, staring straight at the strawberry bushes. Her eyes glazed over and her head lolled slightly to the side. 

I frowned. “Hayden. Are you—?” 

“Kaia,” she whispered. Her voice was tiny, like she was a mile away. “Your…” 

She shuddered and blinked hard. Her eyes refocused. 

“Hayden,” I said. “What—?” 

“Nothing,” she said, not looking me in the face. “It’s nothing. Let’s get back to picking the strawberries, okay?” 

I didn’t argue as we went back to picking the strawberries in silence. 

~*~ 

That Friday I had my first Pegasus riding lesson. The class was taught by Butch from the Iris cabin. He was a big bald dude with a rainbow tattoo on his arm, but that didn’t make him any less scary. 

I got my first good look at the Pegasi since coming to camp. They all looked like normal stallions with the exception of the huge feathered wings on their backs. Until then, I’d never considered that I’d actually have to learn to ride one, and the thought of flying on a horse made my heart go into overtime. 

I liked horses; I’ve even ridden a few at zoos before. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I’ve been scared sick of flying ever since my family and I moved from Hawaii when I was seven. I got claustrophobic easily, and being in tight quarters thousands of miles in the air with heavy turbulence made me pass out from total fear. Needless to say it wasn’t a pleasant experience. 

But there was no getting out of this by pretending I was sick to get a pass to the nurse’s office. I prayed to whatever god could hear me that I wouldn’t faint midflight and fall to my death. That would be a pretty lame way to go. 

Since this was my first time, Butch instructed me one-on-one. He went over the technical stuff: how to adjust the saddle and stirrups, cues to make the Pegasi slow down, stop, etcetera. He assigned me to a calico Pegasus named Sunshine, and if a Pegasus could look unenthused then Sunshine fit the bill. 

“The Pegasi are very tame and know how to work with riders,” Butch explained. “It’ll be easier if you relax.” 

Relax on a flying horse? Sure, no problem… 

I tried to steady my breathing as I climbed onto the back of the Pegasus. A few campers who were waiting their turn watched as I saddled up, probably in anticipation to see how I would fail. 

“If I fall, you’ll catch me, right?” I muttered to Sunshine. She made a blowing sound through her nose but was otherwise silent, though I wasn’t really expecting a response. 

I commanded her to go, and we took off, soaring into the air, leaving my fellow campers and my stomach below. 

I tried to gain some control again, but Sunshine flew too fast. My hair whipped around my head in the wind. Adrenaline rushed through me, and I was all too aware of how high up I was. My heart was trying to beat out of my chest. I fought the urge to shut my eyes and tried to focus on a point ahead of me, but my senses felt disoriented. I wanted to scream, but the wind had sucked it out of me. My grip on the reigns tightened. 

_Slow down_! I was screaming in my mind. _Please, slow down_. 

Suddenly, Sunshine jerked backwards like it was startled. I screamed and pulled on the reigns reflexively. 

“Hey, loosen up on the reigns, there!” a small voice called to me. I tried to look down to see who it was, but the other campers were too far below me and the wind was drowning them out. 

I loosened up on the reigns as Sunshine began to slow down. I took a deep breath. And another. My shoulders started to relax. 

Sunshine flew slowly over camp. Eventually, I mustered up the courage to look down again. I gasped. The view from high up was breathtaking. Everything glowed brightly in the afternoon sun. I took in the lush green hills and valleys, the big blue ocean, and the tall trees of the forest all at once. For the first time I saw how beautiful Camp Half-Blood really was. 

We flew in a steady slow pace, and I started to get a feel for what I was supposed to do. Once my fear began to fade, I started to enjoy the ride. I got a sense of freedom that almost felt exhilarating, though I didn’t want to fly faster and push my luck just yet. 

I pulled on the reigns a bit to signal for the Pegasus to land. We glided back to Earth gently where Butch and the rest of the class was. I wondered who it was who saw me freaking out in the sky. 

I handed the reigns over to Butch. “How was I?” 

He nodded. “Not bad, for your first time.” 

My head perked up. 

“It wasn’t very good—” 

_Oh._

“— _but_ , you might be a decent flyer with a little practice. Let’s see how you do on the chariots next week.” 

~*~ 

Before I explain how I ended up face first in a river after tripping over my own feet, I’ll back up a little. 

After dinner, it was finally time for Capture the Flag. The entire pavilion buzzed with excitement, and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t looking forward to it also. The hype has been building for a week and I would be able to put my training into practice. 

The teams were grouped into different sides of the pavilion. Poseidon, Athena, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hecate, Hades, Nike, Hermes, Nemesis, made an alliance on the blue team. The red team consisted of the Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Apollo, Hebe, Morpheus, Hypnos, Tyche, and Iris cabins. Athena and Ares were the leaders of their respective teams. 

Nico and Hayden were standing two tables behind me. They were talking, and I was glad that they didn’t look so awkward around each other anymore. I waved to them, and was surprised when Nico nodded back. Cue the awkward and unwanted frenzy of butterflies in my stomach. 

Campers were going through the choices of weaponry as Chiron explained the rules of the game. The creak was the boundary line. Maiming and murder were thankfully against the rules, so that was one burden off my shoulders. 

I was given a blue team helmet with a plume on top. Percy even hooked me up with a mega plus-size shield that I probably could have surfed on easily. I wondered if Chiron would let me, but that would be a stupid question to ask. 

The Athena cabin came up with an awesome strategy to win the game. Only a few campers knew where the flag was. Some would serve as distractions and the decoys themselves would be unaware of the fact. Others were to stop roving parties from getting near the flag. Spies (which Hayden was) would be used to track the other team’s movements. There was even a rumor that the red team learned about the placement of our flag that was really to misdirect them. 

All weapons, even magical ones, were permitted. Since the Hecate cabin was on our side, we had an advantage in that aspect. But the red team had Ares and Tyche so they had both good luck and brute strength on their side. The teams were equally matched. Constant action was guaranteed. 

So what part did I get to play? 

The exciting role of guard duty, of course! 

I guess I should have been grateful. The other campers were more experienced than I was, and I didn’t want to get gutted by the girl with the electric spear from the Ares cabin. But compared to the other roles, guard duty was looking pretty lame. 

Percy and Annabeth stood in front of the team. One of Annabeth’s siblings was holding the flag, a shimmery gray banner with an owl on it. 

“All right, blue team!” Percy announced. “You all know your positions and what your jobs are. Remember to stick to it. Let’s win another victory tonight!” 

Annabeth raised her shield. “Blue team, forward!” 

We all cheered as we cleared out of the pavilion and into the woods. 

~*~ 

I haven't been in the woods since I gotten to camp and was not prepared for how creepy it was. The trees blocked out the starlight, so most of the light came from everybody’s celestial bronze weapons. Owls leered down at us with their big yellow eyes. A strange rustling came from behind a tree, but nobody paid it any attention. 

My shield weighed me down as we trudged deeper and deeper into the woods. I had to jog to stay with the team, which was no easy feat, mind you. 

The head counselor from the Hecate cabin helped me to my post. I wasn’t sure which way to face since I had no idea where the flag really was. 

A horn blew, followed by excited whoops and calls from all around the forest. The game had started. 

Metal clanged against metal in the distance, and I think I heard a smoke bomb go off. Someone on the blue team raced past me like a gazelle and into the woods. 

My post was by the creek that glowed silver in the moonlight. I remembered learning about the river spirits, Naiads, in my morning classes and wondered if a spirit girl was looking back. I shook that weird thought out of my head and went back to focusing on my guard duty. 

The weight of my shield was starting to make my arm feel numb. Every once in a while I’d hear a battle going on far away or a drakon crawling around in the forest. I really hoped that man-eating serpents didn’t like to snack late. 

I stood in position for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably just my ADHD dragging out the time. I was starting to feel antsy. 

Suddenly, the bushes near me rustled, and two members of the red team appeared. One had a sword, the other had a spear, and they didn’t look too friendly. 

I quickly raised my shield, but in the process I stumbled back and ended up tumbling towards the stream. I tried to turn and stop the fall, but tripped over my feet and fell face first into the river. A rock cut into my cheek and forehead; I was sure that I would be bleeding pretty badly. 

Through the gurgle of the stream, I could hear the two doofuses laughing at me. My blood began to boil. I felt my energy surge back. 

I pushed myself upright as the doofus with the sword started to advance towards me, his sword raised. 

He swung, aiming for the spot right above my head (I guess trying to mess with me) but I panicked and was able to block his attack. I kicked him in the shin sending him backwards onto his rear. 

I stood, brandishing my sword with my shield in front of me. This time it didn’t feel as heavy. 

The doofus with the spear busted out into laughter. “Really, Gus? You gonna let an undetermined lil’ girl beat ya?” 

Gus apparently wasn’t having any of that. He scowled at me, got back up, and charged at me with his shield. 

In a second, I knew he would knock me out cold. So I did the first impulsive thing to come to my mind. I threw my shield at him. 

Immediately he stumbled back and dropped his sword. I sidestepped and moved so that I was behind him now, and kicked him in the rear. I underestimated my own strength and the poor doofus ended up spinning and landing butt first in the water. 

I flinched. “Sorry!” 

At that moment, I’d forgotten about the other guy. He got me from behind, whapping me hard in the side with the shaft spear. I staggered and nearly dropped my sword in pain. 

The spear doofus hopped over his “friend” still dazed in the stream and ran to where the flag could be. 

“Hey!” I yelled and ran after him. 

I followed after him as fast as I could, jumping over streams and fallen logs, always a few feet behind him. When I finally caught up to him, he was in the clearing standing still. 

Curious, I looked to see what he was staring at… 

The flag wasn’t there. 

The guy swore in Ancient Greek and threw his shield down in a hissy fit. Out of the forest, Gus came stumbling out. He looked at the empty clearing and cursed. “I can’t believe this!” 

I stared, dumbfounded, until I realized: I was a decoy. I didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted. 

In the distance, I heard an eruption of cheering and left the two doofs to investigate. 

I came to an open field where the entire blue team was gathered. Everyone was laughing and high-fiving each other. A few red team members appeared from the woods, cursing and moaning. The head counselor for the Hecate cabin was perched on the shoulders of our teammates with the flag, now electric green with twin crossroads, in her hand. 

Chiron came out of the woodwork and blew his conch horn. We had won. 

From the crowd, Hayden noticed me and jogged over. She was grinning ear to ear, her face was sweaty. “That,” she panted, “was fun.” 

Then she frowned. “What happened to your face?” 

“Oh this?” I touched my cheek. “I cut my face on a rock. It’s pretty bad, huh?” 

“No. It’s, well, look.” 

She raised her shield for me to use as a mirror. What I thought were bad gashes were small, barely noticeable cuts. 

“Weird.” I mumbled. “They weren’t as bad as I thought they were.” 

“Right,” Hayden said. She didn’t look so sure, but didn’t say anything more about it. 

I smiled. “Come on, Hayday.” I took her by the arm to join the celebration. 

~*~ 

That night was the best night I had since coming to camp. We roasted marshmallows over the cherry yellow fire. It went so high that everyone in the front row had their marshmallows set ablaze. Hayden and I sat in the back, letting the bright flames turn our marshmallows gooey. 

The Apollo kids played their lyres and guitars leading the camp in a cheesy song about all the bottles of nectar on the wall. Hayden and I sang along, making up our own words half the time. 

Everything fell into place perfectly for the first time since I came to Camp Half-Blood. I felt like the campers were my family and camp was my home. I felt like I could get use to life as a demigod. Living here wouldn’t be so bad. For once everything was right. 

So of course, you know where this is going. 

The Apollo kids finished the song and were about to announce the next one when one of them glanced towards my direction and gasped loud enough for everyone to turn and see what she was looking at. 

Everyone fell silent all at once, staring at me with awe, shock, but mainly disbelief. The bonfire flames dimmed to a dusty shade of purple. 

“What?” I asked, even though as soon as I said it, I knew what was happening. 

Too late, I looked above me to catch a glimpse of a bright light fading above my head. But everyone else saw the symbol, and I could tell by their expressions that it wasn't good news. 

I had been claimed. 

Slowly, the entire camp got to one knee and bowed, even Dionysus and Chiron. Hayden looked up at me with a troubled look on her face, like all of her worse suspicions had just come true. 

I scanned the faces around me to get some kind of clue. Most of the campers looked confused or shocked. But one face that stood out was Percy’s. I couldn’t event describe the look on his face. 

I was stunned into silence. I barely noticed that Chiron was talking until he was almost done. 

“All hail Kaia Fischer,” he said, his voice sounding grave and strained. “...daughter of Poseidon.”


	5. Chapter 5

I moved into the Poseidon cabin immediately that night. Chiron allowed Hayden to help me move my things while everyone else got to finish their s’mores and sing a few more cheesy songs. I felt like I was being exiled while a million pairs of eyes were on me. 

Hayden wasn't very talkative during the move, unlike me, who couldn’t shut up when there’s an elephant in the room. I chatted away about stupid, mundane things (like “The marshmallows tonight were extra gooey” and “Do you think that cute Aphrodite guy is a natural blonde?”) in an attempt to ignore the problem. 

I was not successful. 

We finished loading up my stuff into my new trunk faster than I thought we would. I was putting the last of my camp shirts into the chest, yapping away about the ugly orthopedic clogs that the Aphrodite kids were wearing. Hayden was still quiet; I didn’t know if she was listening or not. 

“So,” I said, closing the lid of my trunk. “Back there, at the campfire. That was… what _was_ that, exactly?” 

Hayden didn’t respond directly. She traced her finger on the wave carvings on the hood of the chest. 

“This isn't right,” she mumbled.   

I glared at her, feeling slightly defensive. “What do you mean ‘this isn’t right’?” 

She was silent. 

Then, I realized why she wasn’t speaking to me. I fought to keep down the anger that was building in my throat. “You knew, didn’t you? The other day when you had that vision, you saw that this would happened.” No response. 

“You knew that Poseidon was my…” I couldn’t say it. Didn’t want to confront it. 

“I don't know…” She faltered. “This is so messed up.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“It’s complicated, Kaia. You wouldn’t understand if I told you.” 

Wouldn’t understand…? I felt the anger rise again, trying to explode out of me like a volcano. I wasn’t just mad at Hayden, but at Poseidon and the whole messed up situation. 

I pushed the anger down, and tried to control my voice. “Look, you should go. Before the harpies come out.” 

She looked hurt, and I felt a pang of guilt. Hayden didn’t argue with me and left, closing the door softly behind her. 

Maybe I was too harsh. I felt a little bad about kicking Hayden out, but I was mad at her, too, and I wasn’t in the mood to apologize. 

I didn’t look around my new room very much, but I counted the six bunk beds and noted the abalone walls. 

I climbed into the bunk across from a bed that had a backpack on it (obviously Percy’s) and sat there, my back to the wall and my legs hanging over the sides. I always wanted to sleep on the top bunk, but now it didn’t feel so great. With Chalk in my arms I remembered what it was like flying on an airplane, feeling small and scared. Felling like things were out of my control. I felt like a child. 

My emotions felt jumbled up and all over the place. Anger, confusion, fear, and sadness all fought for dominance in my mind. It was giving me a headache. 

All of a sudden things had spiraled out of control. I prayed for answers, and now that I got them I wanted to forget all about them. Burn them out of my mind. I wasn’t prepared for the harsh truth. 

Poseidon was my _father_. That _had_ to be a cruel joke. 

When my mom was young, practically my age, she had lost her mother and her boat home in a hurricane. She and my grandfather spent several years homeless; living in a tent and surviving off of nothing but fish most of the time because of that. 

And now, knowing that somehow Poseidon had… my stomach churned in disgust. 

Thinking about it now, I don’t know how I couldn’t have seen this coming. I mean, the talking llama, the cuddly shark. The fact that I liked to surf, for gods sake! How cliché was that? I was born a full day after Alana. Before, I never understood how that was possible, but now it made sense. 

A week ago I didn't believe in gods, now I had accepted it with hesitation. Now that meant that I had to accept that my dad wasn't my _dad_. 

Being claimed did the opposite of what I thought it would do. It cemented my place here at camp. As much as I've grown to love camp, I still miss my normal life; bickering with Alana, goofing with my classmates, seeing Axel and my friends. 

How could I face my dad after this knowing that he wasn’t my real father? I could never tell him that. All the years of people being surprised that my dad was my father were a thousand times more painful now. 

I wanted to crying, but I held it back. I didn’t want Percy to come in and see me blubbering like a baby. 

I let out a deep sigh. My body shuddered. Against my will, a few tears trickled down my cheeks. 

My eyelids grew heavy. I fell asleep, sitting upright against the wall, clutching my childhood toy. 

~*~ 

That night, I dreamt of a hurricane. 

The storm washed an entire city in a gray filter. Rain came down in heavy sheets, slanted by the force of the wind. Palm trees were bent almost near the breaking point. Violent waves rose three and four stories high, sweeping away cars and anyone unlucky enough to get caught.  Lightning struck the sea and shore, sending salt water and sand flying into the chaos. 

I spotted a boat in the middle of the rocky waters. On it, a girl struggled to stand without falling over when the wind suddenly slung her across the deck, her terror filled cries drowned out by the wind.  Metal debris flew around her and hit her in the shoulder, knocking her over. 

Another wave rose, towering over the small boat. I screamed, but there was nothing I could do. The boat capsized and went under. No one could have survived that. 

The image faded to the same girl standing at the beach. Rubbish from destroyed homes and flattened cars cluttered around her. Her fist were clenched, eyes full of tears. She screamed, spewing words of hatred and disgust. 

She let out a gut retching sob. A dark haired man walked up behind her and placed a hand on her wounded shoulder. He looked down at her with sympathy. 

The girl didn’t budge and continued to cry as if the man wasn’t there at all. 

~*~ 

The next day everyone who never gave me a second glance seemed to be interested in me, while a few of my friends seemed to avoid me. Everyone either treated being the child of Poseidon like a great honor or like a death sentence, and I couldn't figure out why. 

Apparently the reason I got so much hype was because when Percy first came to camp at twelve, he managed to save his unconscious satyr friend, Grover, and kill the Minotaur. A _frigging_ Minotaur! All I did was get poisoned, fall down, and nearly die. And I thought that _that_ was a pretty impressive feat until then. 

Great, I have an older brother for less than a day, and people are already comparing us. 

One of the things that I liked about camp was that I could be judged by my own merits without being compared to a super-better, wonder sibling. And by the number of accomplishments people listed about Percy meant that I could kiss that perk a hardy farewell. 

Don’t get me wrong, I like Percy and all, but having an instant brother was too weird. I still couldn’t wrap my brain around it. 

Percy took the whole “suddenly… a sister!” news a lot better than I did, but it was obvious he was as uncertain as I was. He made polite conversation, but other than that we didn’t talk much during breakfast or the other morning activities. I understood why Hayden and Nico seemed so awkward around each other at first. 

I left lunch early, and wandered around camp by myself. Campers watched me as I walked by, mumbling little comments behind my back like I couldn’t hear them. 

“…can you believe it? Poseidon…” 

“…no way that _she’s_ big three material.” 

“…wonder what will happen to her now that she’s claimed.” 

“… _kicked_ me right in the shin!” 

For the most part, I didn’t understand what they meant. Okay, I knew what that last one was about, but I didn’t get the parts about Poseidon. What was so… _taboo_ about him. He wasn’t king-of-the-universe Zeus or unpopular-and-ostracized Hades. What made him so gossip worthy? 

I found myself in the center of the camp where the hearth still blazed. A little girl who I’ve never seen before was tending to it when she looked up and smiled and me warmly. I was so surprised that I couldn’t help but smile and wave back. 

Before I could question it any further, I saw Annabeth in the Athena cabin on her laptop. I figured that Annabeth could help me out with understanding all of this. She couldn’t tell me anything that would make me feel any worse about the situation. 

You already know I was wrong. 

~*~ 

I knocked on the door, even though it was open. I’m kind of weird that way. 

Annabeth jumped. She seemed so engrossed on whatever was on her laptop screen that I felt a little bad for tearing her away from it. When she saw me her brow furrowed. 

“Kaia. Hi.” 

I smiled sheepishly. “Can I come in?” 

“Sure. Come in.” 

The inside of the Athena cabin was a school room and a workshop combo. Tables and were filled with maps, blue prints, and 3D models of towers and buildings. There was a library filled with enough books and scrolls that would take me three entire life times to get through. A wall of armor was proudly displayed of one wall, a wall of SMART boards on another. All the beds were pushed to one side, which was where I found Annabeth. 

“I imagine you guys don’t sleep much in here,” I chuckled, trying to sound casual. 

Annabeth smiled patted the spot on the bed next to her. “What’s up?” 

I sat down and took a deep breath. “You’ve been here a long time, Annabeth. You understand everything that goes on, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So what’s the deal with Poseidon? Is there something wrong about him? I don’t get it.” 

Annabeth frowned at me. “No one told you?” 

“Told me what?” 

She looked genuinely shock. She sighed sadly, brushing the hair out of her face that I now noticed was gray, and closed her laptop. I noticed a Delta symbol on the top, but I couldn’t think of a company with that logo. 

“After World War II,” Annabeth started, “the Oracle of Delphi predicted that Olympus and the world would either be destroyed or saved by a child of the Big Three. They didn’t want to take the risk, so they all swore on the River Styx to never sire anymore demigod children.” 

“The River Styx?” 

“It’s the most serious oath you can make,” Annabeth explained. “The penalty for breaking it if you’re mortal is… well, let’s just say it’s worse than death. At least, if you’re mortal.” 

I cringed, and made a mental note to not swear on the Styx the next time I promised to pay Alana back the dollar I borrowed for gum. 

Annabeth continued, “But in the nineteen eighties, Zeus was the first to give in and sired my friend, Thalia. Poseidon had Percy, and then there’s you.” 

“What about Nico?” 

“Nico’s a different story. He was born in the thirties, but he and his sister Bianca were put in this hotel that slows down time when—” 

“Wait,” I interrupted, pressing my finger and thumb to my temples. “I was following you fine until the time travel part…” 

Annabeth smiled. “It’s a long story.” 

“I think I got the gist of it. So basically…” I stared at my hands in my lap. “I’m not supposed to be alive?” 

Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t think about it in those terms. Believe me, it’ll drive you nuts.” 

I smirked to feign confidence. “Hey, not thinking is my forte.” 

But Annabeth was too smart and saw right through me. “You have nothing to worry about,” she reassured me. “The prophecy was already fulfilled—” 

“Lemme guess, by Percy?” 

She raised a brow. “How did you know that?” 

“I’ve been hearing all sorts of wonderful things about Percy today.” I hoped that I didn’t sound too bitter. 

Annabeth looked at me sympathetically, with a glint of pride. The pride part I knew was for Percy. How could you not be a bit prideful of your super-amazing-hero boyfriend? I didn’t really blame her. 

“Don’t worry,” Annabeth smiled at me. “The prophecy is in the past, and I highly doubt that the gods would want to kill you at this point.” 

Knowing my luck so far, I wouldn’t bet on it. But I was grateful for Annabeth. I knew she was trying to cheer me up, and I appreciated that. 

I stood up. “Thanks, Annabeth.” 

She smiled. “No problem.” 

As I headed for the door, Annabeth called behind me, “Oh, I heard what you did to Gus last night. Nice move.” 

~*~ 

I decided to go see if Hayden was in the Hades cabin. Construction of the Thetis cabin was nearly completed, but it still looked pretty impressive in its unfinished state. The outside walls were made of abalone and silver, which gave it the allusion of moving water. A fountain was placed on the side of the cabin; little mermaids decorated on the outside. 

The Hades cabin was the opposite. The walls were pure obsidian. Green Greek fires burned twenty-four hours a day on torches, and it seemed to be stuck in a permanent shadow. 

As I got closer, I notice the skull hanging over the doorway. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I stopped in the doorway and stared at it, wondering if it was real or not. Probably the former. 

Suddenly, the air in front of me seemed to darken and shimmer. Nico di Angelo appeared from the shadows, and we were nose to nose. 

I stared into Nico's dark eyes for a second too long. And I know I’ll sound like a complete girly girl saying this, but I was a sucker for brown eyes. 

I stumbled back, sure that my face was the color of a cherry. Nico didn’t seem as phased as I was. 

I tried to act casual. “H-hey, Nico.” 

“Hi, Kaia,” he said. “Are you here to see Hayden?” 

“Yeah. Is she in there?” 

Nico nodded. “You can go in. I'm about to leave anyway.” 

“To see your dad?” I asked. 

He furrowed his brow and frowned. “Huh?” 

“That's what you said you were going to do, right? You're going to visit Hades.” 

I noticed that Nico’s eyebrows shot up. Not too high, but it was noticeable. Nico was hiding something. 

“Right,” he said, shifting on his feet. 

“So,” I said, “What was…” I waved my hand in front of me. “What was that? You, appearing from fat air?” 

It took him a moment to understand what I meant. “Oh. That was shadow travel.” 

“A Hades thing?” 

Nico nodded but looked away. 

My eyes softened. “Sensitive topic?” 

He shrugged. 

“Still, that’s pretty cool, though.” 

Nico laughed bitterly. “I guess.” 

He sighed. “Being a child of one of the big three isn’t as big of a perk as everyone makes it out to be. You can ask Percy.” 

“Percy… right.” 

I didn’t mean to sound like I was applying anything. Nico looked down at his feet. Was he… blushing? 

I winced. “Oh, Nico. I didn't mean anything by it.” 

He scowled at me. “I don't know what you’re talking about.” 

Nico’s scowl hurt, but it didn’t scare me. He sounded bitter, and I knew it was about Percy. I felt so sorry for Nico. I thought of Axel from school, and I knew firsthand what it was like to like someone who didn't think about you in that way. 

“No. What I mean is– I mean I… Nico. Thank you. And safe travels to you.” 

I held out my hand. Nico looked at me questionably, but then shook my hand. 

I wanted to tell him that I understood, that it was okay, but I didn’t want to embarrass him. It was his business, he didn’t want to share, and that was fine. 

As much as I wanted to help Nico, I knew I didn’t know him all that well. But I still considered Nico as my friend. I didn't know what to do except to be there if he wanted me to be, and offer my hand. 

~*~ 

Hayden sat on her bed, polishing the blade of her axe. Her long hair was in a high ponytail. 

She looked surprised to see me. “Hey.” 

“Hey, Hayday.” 

I stood there awkwardly, rubbing my arm and looking around. The cabin was darkly lit and matched the doom and gloom of the outside. The bunks had green sheets that matched the Greek fire in the front. 

Hayden motioned for me to sit on her bed, which helped me relax a bit. She slept on a bottom bunk. She had of few pictures taped to the wall. Two were of her and her dad, another of a beautiful auburn-haired woman in a sundress who must’ve been Thetis, and a few pictures of me and her. I noticed one of us from fifth grade from a Halloween party where we dressed up as Blues Brothers zombies, and another year when we dressed up as Men in Black zombies (we blew our costume money that year on junk food, comics, and CDs). 

Two other pictures were from my last birthday we had on the beach. Since Alana was a day older, we celebrated our birthdays separately. Hayden was in mid-laugh, pieing me in the face with a slice of birthday cake. The other was of us haphazardly balancing on my surfboard on a pile of sand, Hayden sitting crisscrossed and hugging my leg, her eyes wide in fear. 

I smiled at the memory. 

“So,” Hayden said, “what’s up?” 

“I was just passing by. I have archery after lunch.” 

“Getting any better?” 

“I haven’t shot any more stray satyrs.” 

She chuckled. “That’s good.” 

“Yeah.” 

I swung my legs, feeling uncomfortable. I was terrible at apologies and didn’t know where to start. 

“I saw that the Thetis cabin is almost done,” I said. 

Hayden nodded, a spark lighting up in her eyes. “Yeah, it looks awesome.” 

“We should be moving your stuff out soon.” 

She paused her waxing and looked at me. “You’re going to help me?” 

I smirked. “Now what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help my best friend move into her new place?” 

Hayden grinned back. I felt the anger from the other night melt away like an ice cube on a stove. 

I leaned back on the bed. “I saw Nico when he was leaving. Did he tell you where he was gonna go?” 

“Uh, yeah,” she said. “Well, no. He just said that there were things he needed to handle.” 

“Oh.” I wanted to ask what he meant by that. I had the feeling she knew. The two of them seemed close to each other. But I didn't want to seem like I was trying to pry secrets out of her. 

We talked, neither of us mentioning last night. I was glad that while everyone treated me differently, Hayden treated me the same. She was my constant. Even with the world of monsters and gods suddenly thrown at me, she was there. I was lucky to have her as a friend. 

“You think that camp celebrates Halloween?” Hayden asked when the topic of holidays came up. 

“Nah,” I said. “Nico told me that the camp doesn't really celebrate ‘mortal holidays’, whatever that means. 

“Speaking of whom,” a teasing smile played on her lips, “you didn't blush when you mentioned Nico that time. Does that mean you're over him?" 

My cheeks warmed. “Over him? He was never _under_ me to begin with!” 

Hayden burst into hysterics. My face grew redder. 

“Y-you know that's not what I meant!” 

“But that-snort- was what you said!” 

I hit her with a pillow. “Shut up!” 

She ribbed me for a while, the two of us going back and forth like old times. 

~*~   

After an awkwardly quiet lunch with Percy, it was time for archery class. I missed having the class in the morning when I had the excuse of sleep grogginess when I couldn't hit the mark. 

It didn’t help that Percy was there, either. I wasn’t sure whether I felt nervous because I thought he was watching me or if I just wanted to impress him. Maybe both.  I doubt that I impressed very well when Will Solace (who, naturally, taught the class) had to desnag an arrow from his shirt. The snickers from the kids in the Aphrodite cabin who shared the class with us weren’t very encouraging either. 

Percy didn’t do any better than I did. (Though he didn’t hit any innocent satyrs). It made me a little happy to see that he wasn’t all that great with the bow, and I felt like a little brat for felling that way. 

Swordplay was next, and Percy taught that.  As we shuffled into the arena I spotted something that almost gave me a heart attack. 

There in the corner was a black mastiff the size of a truck. A Hellhound. It was sitting in the corner like it belonged there; chewing on a giant bronze shield like it was a toy. I froze dead in my tracks. 

When I let out a small squeak, the other campers turned laughed. I frowned. 

“Wh-what is _that_ doing here?” I ask, but to no one in particular. “I-I—“ 

“That's Mrs. O'leary,” Percy said casually. “She's friendly.” 

“Mrs. O— she's _friendly_?” 

“Relax,” was all he had to say about it. From somewhere in hammer space, he'd gotten an ultra plus size dog treat. 

“But I’ve been here for a week,” I said. “How come I never saw her before?” 

Percy shrugged. “Sometimes she likes to play in the woods. You probably just missed her.” 

I had no idea how I could miss a giant black mastiff. It had to be my ADHD riddled brain messing with me. 

Percy whistled. Mrs. O'leary’s ears perked up. She bounded towards Percy excitedly, tongue slobbering. I was afraid that for a second that she would eat him instead of the treat. But she stopped right in front of him and sat obediently, her tail wagging in anticipation. When Percy offered up the treat, Ms. O'leary barked happily and snatched it up, taking it back to her corner to eat it. 

I found that I was the only one watching the spectacle. Everyone else went to sit in the stadium seats. I decided to join them. 

Percy taught three other cabins when he was here on the weekends; Hermes, Hecate, and the Hephaestus cabin. (Don't ask me about the H theme. I think it's just a coincidence.) Two members of the Ares cabin taught the other cabins, and switched out with each other during the week; one of them taught on the weekends along with Percy. 

I know, confusing, right? I wondered why the camp didn't just have older teachers to lead the activities. It made a lot more sense. 

Percy paired everybody into groups of two to spar. I was paired up with a kid from the Hephaestus cabin, a girl named Nyssa. While she didn’t look like the rest of her siblings, she shared their muscular build and burly hands. 

Our swords met midair. She stabbed at me, and I jumped back, trying to maneuver to her blindside. My goal was to disarm her, but Nyssa saw through my plan and parried my strike. Every once in a while I would get close to her sword hand only for Nyssa to just barely be able to avoid me. She slashed, cutting my shirt sleeve and grazing the skin. 

We continued fighting. Nyssa would strike; I would deflect, coming back at her swinging. It went in like that for a while. My sword was starting to become heavy in my hand. 

The others were already finished and started to notice us. They stood around the two of us in a semicircle, reminding me of how kids would gather around a break dancer at the school dances. 

I knew that eventually I would slow down enough and Nyssa would easily finish me. I lunged, my blade aimed for her sword hand. I twisted, trying to make her drop her sword… 

Nyssa pushed against me with the force of a pro ball player. I stumbled back in surprise. She took the opportunity to counter my move, twisting her sword, making my hand go in an awkward position… 

I dropped my sword. It skittered across the ground, too far away for me to make a dive for it in time. 

Nyssa smirked, holding the sword point at my chest. 

I laughed nervously. “Okay, okay. You got me.” 

Her look of triumph turned into a genuine smile. “Not bad, for being so new.” 

“Thanks.” 

We shook hands as everyone watching dispersed to get a cup of water from the cooler. Part of me was ticked at their reactions, like they expected me to be amazing or something. I was no better today than the day before. 

I went to grab my sword from the floor but Percy beat me to it. I blinked in surprise. 

“Here,” he said, handing me my sword. 

“Um, thank you.” I was about to head to the cooler when Percy stopped me. 

“Hold up, Kai.” He looked me over, not sure what to make of me. “Listen…” 

“Yeah?” 

“After class, come see me. To talk, if that’s all right?” 

I was stunned. I figured that Percy wouldn’t want anything to do with me, let alone talk to me. All I could to was nod and mumble that it was okay. 

_What does he want to talk about?_ I wondered. Was it serious? Was it about Poseidon? 

Most of what I knew of Percy was hearsay. He’s the son of Poseidon, the best sword fighter at camp, the most powerful Demigod of all time. It was obvious that everyone at camp respected and liked him. Even the Ares cabin (who, for some reason, seem to despise him for the most part) had a grudging respect for him. 

Percy seemed like a laid back and fun dude, like a cool older high school guy. But I didn’t know what was going through his mind or how he felt about me. 

The thoughts and questions that I had bounced around in my head like a basketball refusing to slow down or stop until my curiosity was quenched.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of sword fighting class went smoothly. When it was over, everyone fled the arena to go enjoy their free time before dinner. I was the last one to leave. 

Honestly, I was a bit nervous to talk to Percy alone. I mean, I didn’t expect him to skewer me with his sword, declaring “there can be only one!” But at the same time I didn't know what to expect. 

I spotted Percy easily— or rather I saw Mrs. O’Leary, then saw him. The Hellhound was on her back receiving a belly rub, her tail thumping on the ground wildly with happiness. 

I read in my Greek mythology classes (should I still call it that, since the stories were real and all?) that Hellhounds were creatures of the underworld. They were monsters and, naturally, they liked killing demigods. So seeing one like this was comical in a terrifying sort of way. 

I hesitated for a while, but made myself take a step forward. I tried for a casual smile. 

“My dog likes to be scratched behind the ears,” I said. 

Percy looked up, a small smile on his face. “You have a dog? What kind?” 

I shrugged. “It's really more like my sister's dog, but yeah. It's one of those little, uh, bitchin’ frizzies, or whatever.” 

Percy chortled. “A ‘bitchin’ frizzy’? Really?” 

“A Bichon Frisé.” A roll of my eyes. “Gods, that sounds so pretentious. I call the dog that just to get on Alana's nerves.” 

“Who's Alana?” 

“My twin sister.” 

He froze, his mouth slightly open. “Twin?” 

“Yeah,” I said, “but she's mortal, so don't worry.” 

It may have been my imagination, but I thought I saw Percy’s shoulders relax. In relief? 

“How is that…” he shook his head. “Never mind. I don't want to think about it.” 

I laughed. “My thoughts exactly.” I tentatively rubbed the hellhound's belly. Thankfully, she responded positively. I couldn’t help but smile. I’ve always liked larger dogs, and Mrs. O’Leary definitely qualified as a larger dog. 

“Who managed to domesticate a hellhound?” I asked. “I didn't even know that was possible.” 

A shadow crossed over Percy's face. “She belonged to an old friend who died a while back.” 

“I'm sorry.” As I said it, I mentally kicked myself. I knew how shallow an apology could be. When my grandfather died, “I’m sorry” didn’t make me feel any better. I saw the look in Hayden’s eye when someone said “I’m sorry” after her dad had died. I knew she hated it. 

“It’s not like ‘I’m sorry’ is going to bring him back,” she once said bitterly, trying not to cry. “They say it like _they_ did something and apologizing makes it better. It doesn’t.” 

Percy nodded. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.” 

An awkward silence passed between us. Five, ten seconds. It felt longer. 

After a while, Percy spoke. “Come with me.” 

“Where we going?” I asked. 

A smile played on his lips. “Down to the beach. We got some time before dinner.” 

~*~ 

Like the woods, I’ve never been down to the beach before. I knew there were practice battles on warships here but that was way, way above my level. 

The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon, reflecting yellow and orange light off the brilliant blue sea. Huge swells of water rose, fell, and raced towards the shore. The ocean hit the beach in a giant splash, spraying sea foam into the air. 

Percy picked up a rock and tossed it at the ocean. It skipped—one, two, three times— before falling into the water with a _kerplunk_. 

We were silent for a bit, the only noise was the sounds of the waves. I sat, and dug my fingers into the sand. I always liked being at the beach; the melodic sounds of the ocean always made me feel relax and content. I stared at Percy’s back and wondered if the beach made him feel the same way. 

Percy turned, rubbing the back of his head. “I'm not gonna lie, when you were claimed last night by Poseidon, I thought… well, I didn't know what to think.” 

I didn’t say anything while he gathered his thoughts. 

“Poseidon warned me, I guess. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but I guess he wasn’t. I went through this when Poseidon claimed my brother, Tyson. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes, you know? You didn't do anything wrong.” 

“Wait,” I said. “I thought we were the only children of Poseidon.” 

“We're his only demigod kids,” Percy corrected. “Tyson's a Cyclops.” 

“We have a Cyclops for a brother?” I thought about that. “That's… that's pretty awesome, actually.” 

Percy grinned. He sat near me on the sand. “Yeah, Tyson's cool. You'll meet him eventually. He lives in the underwater forges in the palace of Poseidon, and he’s the leader of the Cyclops in Poseidon’s army.” 

That was a lot to absorb all at once. I latched onto on piece of information. “Aren't all the Cyclopes our brothers and sisters, too?” 

“Only the ones fathered by Poseidon. But I don't really count relatives past Tyson on the godly side. Things start to get…” his features scrunched up, brow furrowing, “weird.” 

I chuckled at that. We sat on the beach, talking about the weird Olympian family tree (more like a family web of absurdities.) I asked him if a child of Poseidon ever had a horse for a kid, since Poseidon was the father to all the horses in existence. Percy said that he had no idea and looked genuinely concerned. Whether for my mental state or his future offspring, I didn't know. Probably both. 

We talked about the gods, and our favorite heroes from the myths. Percy’s favorite hero was Heracles, but not because of all of his accomplishments, but because he had worse luck than Percy. I laughed at that, and admitted that I wasn’t sure who my favorite hero was. I thought maybe Achilles, because invincibility was pretty cool. When I voiced my opinion, Percy got a look in his eye that I couldn’t quite place. 

Somehow, we got on the topic of camp dating. I figured that most girls wouldn't want to discuss their dating life with their brother, younger or older, but considering Percy was my brother for less than a day, it wasn't that big of a deal. As I thought (read: hoped), dating was fine as long as it wasn’t with someone in the cabin as you were, since the gods had no DNA. 

“I wonder what our DNA would look like to scientist,” I wondered aloud. By now I was laying on my back, staring up at the glowing golden clouds and pink sky. 

“Annabeth said that half blood cells duplicate faster than average,” Percy said, “but they pretty much look the same.” 

“Oh.” It was a bit disappointing. I’d hope that godly cells could at the very least glow in the dark or spark fireworks or something. 

The topic of DNA gave me an idea, something that I wanted to ask Percy, but didn’t have the courage to. I didn’t know why… maybe it was too personal, maybe I didn’t want an answer. The question died in my throat. 

In the distance, a conch horn blew, signaling it was time for dinner. I sighed; I enjoyed talking to Percy. Then I remembered that we sat at the same table for meals. 

Percy stood, dusting sand off of his jeans. “That’s our cue to go.” He held out his hand to me. “Coming?” 

~*~ 

During dinner, Percy told me stories about his adventures over the years as a half-blood. I couldn't believe half of what he said: Several near-death experiences at the hands of monsters. The deaths of many friends. War. Being a demigod was a lot more dangerous than I thought. I looked at Percy in awe, surprised that anyone, half-blood or not, could survive all of that and come out of it with his sanity still intact. 

He tried to keep it light, too. He joked and talked about his friends and misadventures at the camp: the time he attacked Clarisse La Rue, the head counselor of the Ares cabin, with toilet water the time she tried to give him a swirly. His satyr friend Grover’s pan flute playing and obsession with tin cans; Annabeth’s love of architecture. Different pranks played by the Stoll brothers and games of capture the flag. Somehow, one game developed into a rescue mission to save his friend, Beckendorf, from giant ants (long story) and they uncovered a giant metal dragon that helps protect the camps borders. I’m glad that I didn't see it the first night I arrived at camp, because I would’ve had an aneurysm. 

Percy talked about his stepdad, Paul Blofis, (I thought he said Blow _fish_ ) his mom, and the blue food she made sometimes. She was kind and a writer, too. Sally Jackson. The more he talked about her, the greater she sound. I thought that it'd be pretty cool to meet her, but considering she used to have a thing for Poseidon, I doubt that she wanted to meet me. 

Percy spoke kindly of Poseidon, and I didn't know how to feel about it. He said that out of the big three, Poseidon was the best one to be a child of. Was Percy right? Should I give Poseidon the benefit of the doubt? Honestly, I didn't want to. I still hated Poseidon for what he did, but maybe I should do a bit of research on him. Maybe there was a sliver of goodness in the god. 

After the campfire s'mores and sing-along, I said goodnight to Hayden and followed Percy to the cabin. I was telling Percy about my family. My dad was the president of the company my grandparents started that made boat parts. Like Percy’s mom, my mom was a writer, but she was into journalism. I told him about Alana and how easy it was to mess with her, and about my other friends at school who would’ve fit in perfectly in the Hermes cabin. 

As we got ready for “light out” I was telling Percy the story of how some friends, Hayden, and I earned a month’s worth of detention in the sixth grade by stink bombing the teachers’ lounge… and the cafeteria… and the gymnasium. I found out the hard way that teachers and administrators had a different sense of humor. 

“That’s nothing,” Percy said. “I once accidently hit the wrong lever at the Marine World aquarium and my entire class took a dive into the shark tank.” 

The look on my face must’ve been alarming, because he immediately added, “They survived.” 

I smiled and shook my head incredulously. “That’s insane. I probably would’ve been kicked out of school ten times over by now, but my school didn’t believe in ‘permanent retribution.’” I added the air quotes. “That and they liked my parents’ money.” 

I flopped back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. The tiny bronze hippocampi that circled each other mid-gallop reminded me of a merry-go-round. “Hey, Percy?” 

“Yeah?” 

The question from earlier was back, gnawing at my brain. Now would be the perfect chance. But I couldn’t build the courage to ask him to teach me how to use our Poseidon powers. _Not yet_ , I decided. I swallowed my question. 

“Does it get lonely?” I asked instead. “Being the only one in here and all?” 

He was silent. I thought that he was going to deny it for a second, but then he sighed. “Yeah. Sometimes. But it’s not all bad, not when you got your friends during the day.” 

Percy was trying to get along with me, make me feel accepted and welcome. While he didn't immediately treat me like a little sister, he did treat me like a cabin mate. Considering the oath Poseidon made and knowing that he broke it twice, it probably wasn't too easy to do. It made me think; if I were in the same position, would I be as accepting as Percy? Or would I be angry, feeling like I was being mocked at the arrival of another child of the sea god? 

I nodded, even though he couldn’t really see me. I pondered that, staring up silently and the prancing hippocampi that gleamed in the dark. I thought about what it would be like to sleep in a lonely cabin and eat at table alone, completely isolated from everyone; a constant reminder that you’re the odd one out. It sounded awful. 

Did Percy feel like that? Was he putting on a brave face when he said it wasn’t all bad? Did he really not mind that much, or was he used to it? 

When I realized that I didn’t respond back to Percy, it was too late. He was already sound asleep, snoring softly against his pillow. I decide to follow his example. 

~*~ 

Sunday came, and Percy left to go back home. He kissed Annabeth and gave me a fist bump. We weren't exactly on hugging terms, but that was fine with me. Things take time. 

During the week, the other kids seemed to forget about Poseidon claiming me, or at least the shock value was dying out. I was glad, that meant things could go back to normal, or, at least as normal as it could get here at Camp Half-Blood. 

Hayden and I hung out during our free time. I had asked her to teach me how to manipulate the water, and she’d agree to. Every day we went down to the beach to work on it. I got gradually better at controlling the water. I could breathe under water, resist getting wet— which was awesome, by the way— and could make waves, however the tiny swells never passed my knees. 

I kept thinking about what Percy said about Poseidon, and when my curiosity was piqued, I decided to go over some old myths about the sea god. 

And can I just say: _geez_. 

Poseidon had crazy mood swings. Sometimes he'd be cool and create islands and horses, and help sailors get across the seas safely. Other times he was conniving and angry: tricking Medusa to go with him to the temple of Athena just so he could get back at the goddess, destroying ships with hurricanes and whole cities with earthquakes and drought. It's like Poseidon had super godly PMS… but don't tell him I said that. 

Percy had told me how great Poseidon was. If that's true, does that mean that gods can change? I figured that the gods worked differently than mortals did. Since they lived forever tied to their past and to their duties, changing isn't something that come naturally, if they could change at all. Camp Half-Blood was proof of that. Demigods were still around. 

A part of me didn’t care. So what if Poseidon was a jerk? He wasn’t my _real_ dad as far as I was concerned. He wasn’t the one who raised me or taught me how to fish or how to change a tire. Poseidon wasn’t there for me when the kids in school back in Hawaiian made fun of me and called me _Hapa Haole_. Poseidon would never be my dad. 

I was sort of surprised that he hads more demigod children than Zeus, considering Zeus's reputation. I knew about Theseus and how he slew the Minotaur, but I’ve never heard of Bellerophon, who killed the Chimera, or Cycnus, the king of Kolonai who was a great hero on the side of Troy on the Trojan War but was then crushed to death by Achilles (gruesome), a ton of Argonauts and even more Kings. I was blown away. All these amazing heroes were my brothers. They had done incredible things. How could I ever hope to measure up to them? 

When going through old stories, one in particular caught my attention: 

The prince of Egypt, Danaus, took his fifty daughters and fled when his twin brother, Aegyptus, ordered that Danaus’s daughters married his fifty sons (and I thought the Olympians were a messed up family). Danaus built the first ship in existence and sailed to Argos, where they were placed under protection by the king, Pelasgus. Eventually Danaus became king. 

The fifty sons of Aegyptus pursued them under the order of their father. By the time they found their way to Argos they were so riled up that they were basically clamoring for war. Danaus allowed them to marry his daughters in a mass wedding to spare the people of Argos from war. Instead, he decided to enact revenge on Aegyptus. He ordered all fifty daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night. 

All but one daughter complied, the princess Hypermestra, who spared her husband because he respected her wish to remain a virgin. Her husband, Lynceus later killed Danaus to avenge the death of his brothers. He and Hypermestra later ruled Argos together and started a dynasty of royalty—kind of negating the whole “virgin” thing, but whatever. A happy ending. I think. 

There was a variation of the story, though. Another daughter of Danaus, named Amymone, was sometimes said to have also not killed her husband. Her name meant “the blameless one.” And she was another of Poseidon’s old flames. 

When Amymone and her family moved to Argos, there was a drought that was caused by Poseidon, so Danaus ordered his daughters to go search for water. On Amymone’s journey, she came across a satyr who either started to chase and hit on her, or she shot at him with her bow, thinking he was a deer, and _then_ he started to chase and hit on her. Satyrs are hopeless romantics. 

That’s when Poseidon intervened, chasing the satyr off and immediately started to woo Amymone, y’know, as you do. He struck the ground and created a spring, effectively fixing the drought he caused in the first place. Amymone fell head over heels for the sea god. They had a son Nauplius who founded his own kingdom. 

I knew there wasn’t anything special about Amymone. Just another one of Poseidon’s flings. But a small voice in the back of my head kept yelling at me, telling me to use my brain. This was important, somehow, but I couldn’t see why. Why would one of Poseidon’s many conquests be important to me? 

Then, I saw it; a clue, the symbol of Amymone. The symbol she is always associated with. 

A pitcher of water. 

~*~ 

No way. 

There is no way on Earth that Amymone is— 

No. It couldn't be. Amymone was mortal. She died centuries ago. She's probably in the Fields of Punishment with her sisters, filling jugs of water with holes in them for the rest of eternity. There's no way that the ancient murderess… was my ex-American history teacher. 

But I couldn't ignore that one little thing. The jug of water. Mrs. Tot said that she kept a water pitcher for sentimental reasons, but that had to be a coincidence. 

_Of course it was_ , a part of me agreed sarcastically. So what that my teacher carries around a water pitcher, the symbol of the murderous lover of Poseidon? It doesn’t matter that she referred to a third offense, i.e. _murder_ , as not really “her style” anymore. It's not important that she referred to my father in a wistful, angry way or that she called me a “sea-type.” 

_Okay_ , I thought. Coincidence overload. None if this was by chance. It couldn’t be. 

Was Mrs. Tot a zombie? Even I had to shake my head at that. But what was she, then? What about the patron she referred to? Was that Hades? Did he let her free? 

Sure. Hades, who is super anal about making sure that all the souls of the dead stayed in his domain, let out one crazy lady to kill off two random demigods, one his great plus granddaughter and one a child of Poseidon conceived during their oath that he didn’t even know about. 

Okay, so scratch that idea off the list. 

It didn't make any sense. Was Mrs. Tot immortal? Did she somehow gain immortality before she died and whoever wrote the stories down never found out? It made the most logical sense. Then why was I feeling so apprehensive about it? 

Who should I tell? Annabeth? No, I didn't want to go to her with every problem I had. Besides, she was busy. She would be leaving soon to go to Olympus to see oversee the reconstruction. She didn't need my problems on her shoulder. 

I decided to tell Hayden instead. She’d help me figure out what to do. 

~*~ 

After a lesson in water bending—Hayden hated when I called it that. She wouldn't even let me call her “Sifu Hayden”— I told her what I thought. 

I sat in the surf and finished telling her the rest of my idea. Hayden stood quietly for a moment, pondering my idea. She sat next to me. 

“So,” Hayden started slowly, “you think that our U.S. government teacher was a princess in Ancient Greece who murder her husband and had a thing for Poseidon.” 

“It makes sense, Hayday,” I insisted. “The water pitcher. The fact that she wanted to kill me.” 

“That doesn't prove anything, Kai. We're demigods. Monsters like killing us.” 

“But Mrs. Tot isn't a monster. You know that.” 

“I know, but…” 

“But what?” 

Hayden rubbed her temple. “What does that mean? Is she immortal? A zombie? I don't get it. And even if she hates you, why go to extremes to kill you?” 

I thought about it. Hayden had a point. I mean, why would a princess from a bajillion years ago go through the trouble to kill me? Petty vengeance, sure, but whether she had returned from the underworld or not, becoming a middle school teacher for a few years just so she could axe me off didn’t seem worth it. But… 

“Her patron,” I said. “She mentioned that someone wanted me dead. But who would want _me_ dead?” 

“I… I don't know.” Hayden looked down at her feet in the water, her purple sneakers an inch deep in the muck. “But she can't get us as long as we're at camp. Mortals can't get in without permission.” 

I nodded, but that didn't make me feel anymore assured. One day I was going to leave the camp. I didn't want to worry about monsters _and_ a psychotic princess Hades-bent on killing me. 

I looked past the camp, to where the rolling hills blocked the horizon from view and to where Thalia's pine tree stood, protecting the camp within its magical boundaries. My mind raced. Was Mrs. Tot out there, looking for me? Was she outside the camp now, waiting for the chance to strike? The thought scared me. 

Hayden put a hand on my shoulder. “Look, Kaia. It'll be fine. If Mrs. Tot comes back, we'll handle her together. I got your back.” 

She smiled, her eyes full of confidence, and I felt a little better. That's why I was at camp, I reminded myself. To train so I could protect myself against monsters once I left. Mrs. Tot wasn't human. When the time came, I had to deal with her. But even if I had to, could I kill her? Could Hayden? I wasn't sure. 

I put Mrs. Tot in the back of my head. I wouldn't forget her, but redirect my attention elsewhere. Being ADHD, that was easy. 

Instead I focused on the ocean. I watched the clear cool liquid wash over my feet, reach my ankles, and recede back. 

I concentrated on raising the water, making one wave. At first, it didn't work. I closed my eyes, imagining the ocean rising up in front of us. Something tugged almost painfully at my stomach. 

“Kai,” Hayden croaked. “Is that you? Please say yes.” 

I opened my eyes and saw what she was talking about. In front of us loomed a wave about two feet over our heads, frozen as if I pushed the pause button while it was mid-crash. The water looked as smooth as glass as minnows darted around like everything was perfectly normal. 

I gasped, “Whoa,” but as soon as I did, the wave collapsed on us. We stayed dry, but that didn’t mean that the cold water didn’t shock us. 

I groaned and sputtered salt water out of my mouth. “I-I meant to send that the _other_ way.” 

Hayden looked as if someone had just flicked her in between her eyes. A minnow was wiggling wildly in her hair. 

She locked eyes with me. After a beat, she started to laugh hysterically. “Y-you should see your face—pfft!” Hayden cackled, tearing up. I couldn’t help it, I joined her. I would’ve been embarrassed if anyone else was there to hear me snorting. We probably sounded like crazy people, but in the moment I didn’t care. 

“Uh,” a voice said behind us. “Excuse me.” 

A satyr stood behind us. He seemed almost nervous. “K-Kaia?” 

“That’s me,” I said through a fit of giggles. 

“Mr. D and Chiron would like to speak to you.” 

My smile melted. “Why? What did I do?” 

“Nothing, yet,” he mumbled. “I mean, I'm not sure why.” 

I looked at Hayden. She had a worried look in her eye. She tossed the minnow in her hair back into the ocean. “Want me to come with you?” 

Before I could answer, the satyr shook his head. “That’s not a good idea. They only asked for Kaia.” 

“I'll be okay,” I said to Hayden.  “It's probably nothing.” 

She looked skeptical, but nodded. “Just don’t do anything to tick Mr. D off, all right?” 

~*~ 

When I got to the porch, Chiron and Mr. D were already there, but they weren't playing cards this time. They were obviously waiting for me. Nothing was casual this time around. 

“Uh, hello.” 

“Hello, dear,” Chiron said. I could tell he was trying to sound nonchalant. “Come. Sit.” 

I sat in the in between the two. Mr. D sipped loudly from a diet coke can, openly acted as if I wasn’t there. That really peeved me. God or not, I was getting sick of this guy acting as if I was beneath him. 

Mr. D glanced at me sideways. “Well?” 

“Well, _what_?” 

He sneered. “If it were up to me, I'd vaporize you on the spot and be done with it. None of this _voting_ nonsense.” 

I frowned. “What?” 

“What, _sir_.” 

I glowered at him, which wasn't a smart thing to do. But before Mr. D could turn me into a grease spot in the chair, Chiron intervened. 

“I believe we have more pressing matters to attend to,” he said. 

Mr. D sighed, exasperated. “Very well. Carry on.” 

He waved his hand, and a winery magazine appeared in his hand. I tried my best not to roll my eyes. 

Chiron smiled at me, but I could see the worry in his dark eyes. No, not just worry. Sadness. 

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “So, what's up, Chiron? Everything okay?” 

“I wanted to talk to you sooner,” Chiron said, not really answering my question, “but you seemed to be adjusting well enough into cabin three.” 

“Yeah, Percy's been great.” 

Mr. D snorted, but didn't say a word. 

“Yes,” Chiron said wistfully. “Percy is a kind student. I have trained him for many years.” 

For a moment, his eyes seemed lighter, his voice more cheerful. But then, the look of melancholy returned. 

“I assume by now that you've heard of the great prophecy and the Battle of Manhattan.” 

I nodded. “Annabeth told me about the oath the gods made.” 

Chiron nodded grimly. “Unfortunately, my dear, I fear that is the reason why I called you here.” 

The tone of his voice made my stomach tie itself into a knot. 

“Zeus was not pleased to discover that his brother broke the oath not once, but twice. Zeus has called a meeting of the Olympians… to discuss your fate.” 

My heart sank. No, no. He couldn’t mean… “My fate?” 

“There will be a vote,” Chiron said. “The gods will decide whether you will live… or die.”


	7. Chapter 7

I sat there, frozen, trying to reboot my brain. A knot began to grow in my stomach. A meteor could’ve smacked into the earth and completely demolished Western Civilization, and I wouldn’t have noticed. 

“No,” I finally said. “The Olympians cancelled that oath last summer. The prophecy was already fulfilled. Why are they bothering with me _now_?” I sounded whiny even to myself, but I felt as if it was partially justified. 

“You were born when the oath was still in place,” Chiron explained. “As far as Lord Zeus and some of the other gods see it, your birth was in violation the sacred oath. To them, it is the principle of the matter.” 

“But that isn't—” 

“Fair?” Dionysus interrupted. He chuckled cruelly under his breath. “So predictable. What’s the cliché, Chiron? Whoever said life was fair? Well, it’s the truth, girl, and you better get used to it.” 

I clenched my fist and ignored him. “Chiron,” I pleaded. “I don't— you’ve got to convince them otherwise.” 

The old centaur looked miserable. “I'm afraid that this is a matter out of my control, child. I am sorry.” 

I didn’t respond—I didn’t trust myself to speak. Instead, my eyes focused past the volley ball pit towards Thalia’s pine tree. The Golden Fleece sparkled beautifully in the sun. The other campers talked about the story of Thalia before—how the daughter of Zeus sacrificed herself to save her friends Annabeth, Percy’s friend Grover, and another demigod Luke, the son of Hermes. Before she died, Zeus turned her into a pine tree to preserve her life force. 

The story bothered me. First off, the only reason that Thalia died was because Hades sent a swarm of monster to attack her and her friends because she was born in spite of the oath that the big three made. Plus, instead of saving Thalia’s life or killing the monsters, the almighty king of the gods decided to turn his daughter into a Christmas tree. I understood the gods were restricted from interfering with the lives of their children too much, but that still seemed pretty cold. 

But turning into a pine tree seemed a lot less harsh than what I was facing. 

Chiron continued, “The Olympian council is meeting in a few days—Lord Zeus has requested your presence.” 

“Why would he want to see me?” I asked bitterly. “And why should I go?” 

“Formalities, really,” Dionysus said, thumbing through the magazine. “Zeus is big on formalities.” 

The gods are calling a meeting to discuss my death, but _of course_ let’s do this properly, like we’re civilized. 

“I can decide not to go, right?” I asked. “Attendance isn’t mandatory or anything?” 

Dionysus looked up from his magazine to frown at me. “I wouldn’t ignore a direct summon from Zeus, _girl_ , if I were you. You wouldn’t like the consequences.” 

I didn’t see what consequence would be worse than _death_ , but I just sighed nodded. “All right.” I got up to leave and was halfway down the step when Chiron stopped me. 

“Kaia, the council may not vote against you,” he said. “As you said, the prophecy was fulfilled last summer, and your death won’t gain them a thing. You have nothing to fear.” 

Nothing to fear. I didn't believe it. But I nodded as if I did. 

Chiron smiled at me reassuringly, but his eyes betrayed him. He looked at me as if seeing a ghost. 

~*~ 

I was as good as dead. 

I knew that Percy had gone though the same thing and the Olympians voted to keep him alive, but that was different. Percy had a string of accomplishments behind him at that point. I hadn't _done_ anything. Other than the _Amphisbaenae_ , I never faced a monster. I wasn’t a hero. What good was I to a bunch of moody Olympian gods? 

I thought about the gods who might want to see me dead. Maybe Zeus. Dionysus? Definitely. Would Hera vote with her husband? Probably. Artemis might vote in my favor since she’s the protector of young maidens, but who would side with her? 

Would Poseidon even vote in my favor? Would he spare me, or vote against me to try to make up for his “mistake?” I wasn’t sure. 

I didn’t go back to the beach—I didn’t want to see Hayden yet, and I wasn’t sure that she was even still there. I decided to go down to the lake where the canoe races were held. Sitting, I untied my shoes and dangled my feet in. The cool water helped ease my nerves. 

At the bottom of the lake, some girls—Naiads—sat at the bottom, weaving baskets. Their dark hair floated around their heads, very Ariel-like. 

Life at the bottom of the lake looked very serene. For a moment, I considered going down there to escape my fate. Maybe I would be safe down there, weaving baskets and reenacting _The Little Mermaid_ for the rest of my life. Then again, that didn’t sound like fun, especially if I had to act out the sequel. 

I racked my brain for ideas that would save my life, but I couldn’t think. My mind was cluttered with anger, sadness and fear. I wanted to scream, punch something, pick a fight with anyone. In the end, I knew that there was no way out of this. I had to face the council of the gods. 

For a while, I sat there, absent-mindedly making circles in the water with my feet until the conch horn blew. Dinner was lonely without Percy. I didn't talk much at the campfire. When Hayden asked me what was up I lied and told her I was fine. But she knew better, and I knew I had to tell her the truth. 

~*~ 

When I told Hayden the next day, she turned as white as a ghost. Her eyes went round and she was silent for a while. 

“No…” she finally said. “No, they can't do that.” 

“They're gods Hayden,” I said softly. “They can do what they want.” 

We just finished another lesson at the beach, but my heart wasn’t in it. I sat on the sand, hugging my knees to my chest. 

“There has to be something we can do,” Hayden said, pacing back and forth in front of me. “We can make an appeal. I can talk to Dionysus. He's a little nicer to children of Thetis, he might listen.” 

Hope swelled in my chest like a small candle and sputtered out as just as quickly. “Yeah, but he has a special dislike for the children of Poseidon. Face it, Hayden, there's nothing we can do.” 

Hayden fumed, pale eyes blazing. “Aren’t you mad? How can you be so calm?” 

I sighed and a shudder ran through my body. “I'm _not_ calm, Hayden. I can't stand this either. I can't… I don't want to die. I—” I blinked back the tears that were threatening to escape. I couldn't cry. Not now. 

Hayden's eyes soften. She crouched put a hand on a hand on my shoulder. “Hey. It'll be okay. You never know, the gods may not even vote against you. Don't worry too much.” 

I didn’t see how I could not worry. In a few days, I would be on my way to the Empire State Building. My fate was in the hands of the gods. I could die and my family… they wouldn’t even know what really happened to me. 

No. I'm not going to think about this now. I can’t. 

_Then when_? 

Never. If I don't think about it, then it's not real. 

_That's stupid_. 

“I know!” 

Hayden jumped. “What?” 

“Nothing,” I mumbled under my breath. Great, now I’m going crazy. What else can go wrong? 

_I just jinxed myself, didn’t I_? I thought dryly. 

“I don’t want to think about this now,” I said as I stood. “I wanna blow off some steam.” 

Hayden looked up at me, warily. “All right, Kaia. What do you have in mind?” 

~*~ 

I wanted to prove myself just once before I died. I would face a monster, like a real hero. Hayden agreed to come with me for help. Besides, you shouldn’t go into the woods alone. 

We searched alongside the creek, our weapons at the ready. I was so focused on spotting a monster that I didn't see the dryad emerge halfway out of her tree until we were face-to-face. I stumbled back. 

The tree girl shot daggers at me with her unnaturally green eyes. “What are you, _stupid_?” 

I said something snide and smart like, “I, well, uh…” 

She rolled her eyes. Even her sclera was tinted green. “Of course you are. If you weren't, you wouldn't be heading in that direction.” 

She waved down the stream where we were heading. 

“What's in that direction?” Hayden asked. 

The dryad sighed, exasperated. “Isn’t it obvious? Look.” 

She pointed at our feet. We stood in the middle of a giant foot track the size of a car door with long, pointed toes. 

I perked up excitedly. “Perfect! That’s just what we wanted.” 

The dryad made a face, like she was confused why we _wanted_ a monster to shred us into lunch meat. She quickly recovered. 

“Good,” she said. “You got what you wanted. Yippee. Now stop bothering me and go away.” 

“But we weren’t—” I started. 

“Shoo!” And she melded back into her tree. 

I turned to Hayden. “Well she was just peachy.” 

“I heard that!” the dryad barked inside the tree. 

Hayden rolled her eyes, muttering something about touchy dryads, and readied her _Ono_. “Come on. Let’s go.” 

We headed down the stream, following the tracks that the drakon left behind. They led us into an open clearing. As soon as we spotted the tail of the drakon, we both ducked behind a tree. Hopefully there were no crabby dryads connected to these two. 

I peeked around the tree, and immediately regretted it. The monster was easily the size of a school bus. Its scales were the color of rust and dead grass. I remembered hearing that most drakons could spit acid, others could blow fire, and very few did neither. 

_Please_ , I silently prayed. _Please don’t let this be the fire-breathing or acid-spitting kind. Thank you in advance_. 

Staring at it, my heart started to do jumping jacks. “I wish finding it wasn’t so easy,” I muttered. 

“We don’t have to do this,” Hayden said. 

I shook my head. “No. I’m going through with this.” 

She looked like she wanted to protest, but she swallowed it back. “You remember the plan?” 

I nodded. 

Hayden turned her gaze back to the monster. Her eyes narrowed. “Okay.” 

She burst into the clearing, yelling and grabbing the drakon's attention. It roared, lumbering towards her and spitting green acid, but Hayden was too quick. She rolled out of the way and swung her axe at the monster’s side. A drakon's hide was as strong as celestial bronze, but Hayden managed to draw blood. 

They kept fighting. The drakon spat acid and charged her, but Hayden kept dodging, drawing its attention away from where I was. 

I crept out from behind the trees, my back to the creek while I was facing the monster's scaly hide. I tried to bend the water to my will, but it wouldn't move but a few feet above the surface. I panicked, but quickly realized that that was the problem. I was too nervous to do this now. 

I was about to forget it and charge into battle with Hayden when it all went wrong. 

The monster sprayed acid at her. When she moved to jump out of the way, the drakon's tail grabbed her by the leg and dangled her upside down like a rag doll. 

Hayden grunted and hacked at the serpent's tail, but to no avail. It stared at her, hissing sourly as if it were laughing at her fruitless attempt to get free. 

Rage boiled inside of me, replacing the fear that was already there. I felt a familiar tug in my stomach. 

“Hey!” I yelled at it, effectively getting the drakon's attention. I used all of my will power to summon the water and channeled it up the monster nostrils. It snarled indignantly and tossed Hayden aside. She hit a tree with a harsh _thud_. 

My blood roared in my ears. I stared in horror at where Hayden lied, then towards the drakon that. 

I yelled in defiance and charged at the monster. It seemed surprised for a split second before it roared at me and slithered towards me, spitting acid. 

I dodged to the right, getting closer to the monster than what was smart. The drakon swiveled its head at me, but before it could melt me into a demigod puddle, I stabbed it right in its eye. 

The drakon howled in pain so loudly that it blew back the branches on the trees. I was sure that anyone near the forest definitely heard it. 

Something moaned behind me. I turned and almost sobbed in relief. Hayden was conscious. She was bruised and bleeding a little from her temple, but she was alive. 

I shouldn’t have lost focused. Hayden cried out in warning, but it was too late. The drakon's tail was already in motion, hitting me in the stomach and sending me flying into the brook. By sheer luck, I managed to avoid skewering myself with my sword—it landed point down beside me in the water. 

The monster loomed over me. If a serpent could look triumphant, them this one looked downright cocky. But it must've been stupid or forgetful. 

My hand shot forwards and stream of water hit it with the force of a water hose. Not very strong, but it was enough to disorient it long enough for me to grab my sword and scramble up. 

I sprayed the drakon again, this time aiming for his other eye, but I guess it learned its lesson because it dodged. It lunged at me, getting a hold of my right arm, and sank its fangs into my bicep. 

Whit hot pain coursed through my arm, setting it on fire. I cried and fell back. My arm was bleeding badly. Everything blurred and doubled and swayed as black spots danced at the edge of my vision. I tried to force myself to focus, but I couldn’t. It was if I were on the other side of a cotton ball veil. 

Though fuzzy vision, the serpent slithered hovered above me. Suddenly it lurched sideways, roaring indignantly. Hayden was on the attack again, trying to gouge out the drakon’s other eye. But I could tell that she was getting tired quickly, and being thrown against a tree didn’t help. 

Shakily, I stood. My arm was numb and cold, but I didn’t dare look at it. The cold feeling was starting to spread. I had to finish this. 

“Hey!” I yelled. “Hey, you stupid snake! Over here!” 

It swiveled its head and slithered at me with speed as if remembering, “Oh, yeah. I _did_ want to kill her.” I gulped and wished that I had thought of something other than taunting it.   

The drakon struck out at me, but I managed to parry its fangs away weakly with my sword. I slashed at its good eye, but the drakon just backed away, spitting acid at me. I rolled away, but put too much weight on my injured arm. I yelped and fell to my side. Hayden was yelling from somewhere around me, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. 

With difficulty, I managed to get to my knees. But the monster was already towering over me, ready to strike. It reeled back, opening its maw, hissing and dripping acid from its fangs. 

My next move was purely by instinct. As the drakon was about to bite me in half, I lunged up with my sword with all my might. I felt a sickening _shlunk!_ as my sword pierced the roof of the drakon's mouth. 

Its eyes went wide in shock. Then, the monster exploded in a shower of yellow dust. 

It was silent for a second—the only noise was my heavy panting. 

Hayden stared at me, wide eyed. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. “Kai, your arm.” 

I looked at my injured arm and felt woozy again. I stumbled, but Hayden rushed forward before I had the chance to fall. 

“The water,” she said. “Come on.” 

She helped me towards the creek and I put my arm in. Instantly, the pain subsided. When I gathered the courage to look at my arm again, I saw that the two holes where the drakon’s fangs had gotten me were slowly closing up. They turned into small bumpy scars a little lighter than the rest of my skin before fading completely. 

I looked back at Hayden. “Did not know I could do that.” 

Hayden’s shoulders relaxed. “At least it didn’t get your other arm. That would’ve been a mess.” 

I chuckled. “Good thing I’m left handed then.” 

She laughed short at that. 

“That was a close call,” I said. “I would have been monster chow if it weren’t for you.” 

“What are friends for if they won’t keep your secrets and go out monster hunting with you?” 

I laughed. We both leaned back and stared up at the sky. A Pegasus flew over us and I thought about my classes with Butch. I was getting better at it, I was only a kind of frightened instead of pants wettingly terrified now, and I did pretty well on the chariots. 

“You think Pegasus—y'know, the original—is still out there somewhere?” I asked Hayden. 

“Maybe. But he's a free spirit. Children of Poseidon are pretty restless.” 

“That explains a lot.” 

I glanced over to where the yellow remains of the drakon lay. A breeze came through, sweeping up some of the dust. An odd feeling of satisfaction washed over me. I fought a monster. It didn’t matter if I was bitten or that I had help—it was still an amazing feat. _I_ did that. I faced a monster, and I had survived. 

Exhaling, I basked in the sunlight, trying to enjoy this feeling for as long as I could. I looked at Hayden, who looked like she was doing the same thing. Her eyes were closed. 

“Hey, Hayden?” I said. 

“Hm?” 

“You’ve done that before? Y’know. Kill a monster.” 

She faltered, eyes opening. “Yeah. I have. A lot.” 

“Was it ever scary?” 

She was silent. That answered everything. 

After a moment, she spoke again. “My dad taught me to fight—taught me to use my powers as a legacy of Plu—Hades.” A sideways glance my way. I couldn’t place the look in her eye. Nervousness? 

She continued. “Hades gives us different gifts. The members of my family sometimes have the power to control the dead or travel through the use of shadows. Some can even summon precious gems from the earth and make earthquakes. I can’t do that, but I’ve always been able to tell different jewels and rocks apart.” 

“That’s why you aced geology last year.” 

“Yeah. That and I actually _studied_.” 

“Boooo.” 

Hayden elbowed me playfully. “Anyway, Dad said as a legacy of Hades and the child of Thetis, I would be more powerful than the average demigod, even though Thetis is kind of a minor goddess. Dad… he told me…” 

Hayden stared up at the cloudless sky, her eyes getting misty like they usually do when she talked about her dad. 

I’d thought for a while that her dad must’ve been killed by a monster, but I never gathered the courage to ask to confirm my suspicion. I didn’t want to tear open old wounds. So I settled on an easier question to ask. 

“You always hesitate when you say Hades’s name,” I said. “Were you gonna say his Roman name…Pluto, right?” 

Hayden flinched. “Kaia…” 

“The gods were the same in Roman times,” I said, recalling something I heard in Greek class. “They were just called something else, but I guess their Roman names sound more familiar to us, since they named the planets after them. Is that why you almost call Hades Pluto?” 

“Yeah. That makes sense.” But she didn’t sound so sure. 

I was about to ask her a follow up question when a roar in the distance interrupted the peace. 

Hayden sat up. “Maybe we should go.” 

“Good idea.” 

~*~ 

_Today is the day_ … 

I stood in the doorway, looking at my cabin room for the last time. _No, not the last time_. I would return to camp and continue my training. And when I was ready, I would go back to my home. 

That made me think: would I be able to go back to school my normal life? After living at camp, knowing I was a half-blood, and knowing that the gods were real, could I be normal again? 

_Of course I could_ , my inner voice said. _I'm still me. Nothing's changed_. 

But I wasn't so sure. 

Before I left my cabin, I stuffed some of my money into my sock so I wouldn’t lose it as easily (a trick my grandfather taught me). Mom once told me to never leave my home without having some money with me. I was sure I wouldn’t need it, but you never know. 

For the last few days, I tried to go about my schedule as if everything were normal. I participated in the canoe race and even played volleyball with the Satyrs and the kids from the Apollo cabin. 

I read more in Ancient Greek class than usual. I think I've read more in the past few weeks at Camp Half-Blood than I’ve had before in my entire life. Ancient Greek was a lot easier and less migraine-inducing than English. I wondered what my friends back at school would say if they saw me reading willingly. They'd probably laugh in disbelief and give themselves an aneurism in the process. 

But, someone, somehow, found out that the gods were voting whether or not to axe me off (probably a gossipy satyr). Eventually the whole camp knew. People muttered under their breath as I passed by them during breakfast. I caught enough to know that I was the hot topic of the day. 

Camp activities before lunch were uncomfortable. You’d think after Poseidon claimed me that I’d be used to people staring and talking about me like I couldn’t hear them. 

Midday, I met Hayden and Argus on top of Half-Blood Hill—Chiron had given the thumbs up for her to tag along with me. She wore a purple skirt and black leggings with her camp T-shirt, along with her favorite combat boots. Her lavender bag that held her axe was at her side. 

“Haven't seen those in a while,” I said. 

Hayden grinned. “I decided to bring them out. You never know when a steel-toe kick to the head will come in handy.” 

The ride into the city was silent for a while except for the easy listening radio Argus put on. “Raindrops keep falling on my head…” 

I stared out the window, the countryside a big blur. A tightly wound ball of dread was building in my stomach; every time the van hit a bump on the road, I thought of Mrs. Tot. 

Hayden put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile. Having her along relieved some of the stress that I'd been carrying. During the ride, Hayden and I chatted, which cheered me up. She talked about Halloween, and how she'd convince Chiron and Mr. D to have a Halloween themed party at the camp. I told her good luck with convincing Mr. D of anything, then I realized that the god of partying wouldn't be too hard to persuade. 

Halloween was Hayden's favorite time of the year. She loved the costumes, the atmosphere, the excess amount of candy that made the two of us bounce off the walls. She loved horror films and made me watch them, but I didn't mind. We both loved Alien, since I was into sci-fi. Hayden loved movies like Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, and the Exorcist, anything spooky and unorthodox. She knows every line and song from the nightmare before Christmas word for word. 

“Must be the Hades genes,” I joked. “It all makes sense now.” 

Hayden nudged me playfully with her elbow. 

The countryside blended into the city. Buildings and landmarks that were familiar to me seemed almost alien. Hayden and I only arrived at camp about a month or so ago, but it seemed like a century ago when we came to camp to find refuge. It seemed rather cruel that I was leaving the security of camp into the dangers of the normal world. 

We were discussing the possibilities of Halloween costumes when a brown blur flew past my window. 

The van violently lurched then sank in the back. I could hear the bumper screeching against the pavement from inside, a thousand times worse than nails on a chalkboard. 

All of Argus’s eyes widened in alarm. He managed to pull the van over, while drivers sped past us, honking their horns and flipping us the bird. I missed the city. 

“What was that?” I asked. 

Argus didn’t answer. He didn’t speak much, which I guess was on account of the rumored eyeball on the tip of his tongue. Must hurt like Hades if he ever accidently bit his tongue. He motioned for us to get out of the van. 

We did. When I got a good look at the van, my jaw dropped. The two back tires were gone. Somehow someone managed to steal the tires _while_ we were driving. Taking them if we were stuck in traffic would be one thing, but this? 

“How the heck did that happen?” I asked. 

“A harpy?” Hayden guessed. “They’ve been known to steal things.” 

“Okay… but why the tires?” 

She shrugged. “Harpies are kleptos. Who knows?” 

My ADHD conjured up a frightening image: a harpy with the withered old face of a hag, dressed like little Bo Peep, swinging cheerfully on a tire swing as the song “Swing, swing” played. I shuddered and tried to shake that thought away. 

“Okay,” I said. “So now what?” 

“We walk.” Hayden looked to Argus, who nodded in confirmation. “But first, we’ve got to send an Iris Message back to camp. Let find a fountain.” 

I’ve heard of Iris Messages back at camp. The goddess would apparently send messages for demigods if she wasn’t too busy. How we accomplish that with a fountain and a rainbow, I had no idea. But I guess I could chalk it up to magic, like everything else. 

We walked to Central Park—which was only a few blocks away from where we broke down. Hayden took the lead, clutching her bag the whole way. I thought of my sword strapped to my belt, and hoped that it looked inconspicuous through the Mist, like a baseball bat or something else slightly less threatening. 

The deeper we headed into the park, the scarcer the crowds became. By the time we got to the Bethesda Terrace, there was no one around but a family with two toddlers and a lady snapping pictures of the fountain from the top of the stairs. 

I’ve been here before on fieldtrips to the city, but I’ve never paid much attention to the fountain and instead goofed off with my friends. In the center of the pool stood the fountain with the statue of an eight foot angel at the top. Beneath her feet were four cherubs. 

Hayden took her axe out of her bag and held it upside down. She created a mist curtain with one hand while she mumbled some words that I could quite understand. I swear I saw one of Argus's eyes widen a bit, like he read her lips and knew what she said. I didn’t think much about that until later. 

The jewel at the base glowed blindingly white hot. It subsided and the jewel was now crystal clear glass prism. When the sunlight hit it, a rainbow appeared, its larger reflection appearing in the mist. 

She looked between me and Argus. “Got a drachma?” 

“Only about twenty dollars,” I said. 

Hayden sighed. “Iris won't take mortal money. It has no value to the gods.” 

Luckily, Argus had one. He handed it to Hayden. She thanked him and held the drachma up. 

“O goddess, please accept our offering.” Hayden tossed it at the misty rainbow and it vanished. 

For a second, nothing happened. Then, an image started to form—the side of a baby blue farm house. A familiar looking middle-aged man in a wheelchair sat near the railing, looking out into what I knew was a valley. Chiron appeared clearly in the mist and I had to pick my jaw up from the ground. I swear it looked as though he were right in front of us behind a misty screen. 

“Okay,” I said. “That is wicked awesome.” 

Chiron wasn’t a jumpy kind of person, but he tensed at the sound of my voice. He looked surprise to see us—although, not surprised the he _could_ see us. 

I explained what happened, with Hayden chiming in to add the details I forgot. Chiron said that he would send the camp harpies to install new tires and bring the van back to camp. In the mean time we should just go ahead and hail a taxi. 

~*~ 

So we were back on the street, wading through sidewalk traffic. 

The Empire State Building loomed ahead. Somewhere above it was Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. I guess the Mist was thick around the godly city, because the sky above was clear and normal, no magical floating city of gods to be seen. 

I was about to ask Hayden how exactly we were supposed to get to Mount Olympus when my stomach growled, sounding suspiciously like Chewbacca. 

Hayden raised an eyebrow at me. “Was that you?” 

“You heard that?” 

“They heard it up on Mount Olympus. I’m surprised it didn’t cause an earthquake.” 

“Well, I am the child of the Earthshaker. We left before we got any lunch. I’m starving, aren’t you?” I looked around for a hotdog stand. Sure enough, there was one on the corner without a line. 

I asked Argus if it was okay if we grabbed a hotdog from the stand. He nodded, and pointed to the curb, letting us know that’s where he’ll wait for us and try to catch our ride. 

The vacant hotdog stand was manned by an old woman. There looked like there was at least a ten foot diameter of empty space around her, like people instinctually parted around her, but I couldn’t tell why. She looked like a kind old grandma; a little pudgy with dyed blue hair that looked faded. Hayden's eyes narrowed, but if she thought that anything strange about it, she didn't say anything. 

“Two hotdogs, please,” I said in my polite made-for-adults voice. 

The old woman smiled. Her name tag read “Ethel.”  “What a polite child you are. They don't make children like that anymore. So polite.” 

We told her what toppings and condiments we wanted. She just smiled blankly, muttering under her breath. Hayden shifted uncomfortably on her feet. I placed the money on the counter. 

“You girls must be hungry,” Ethel said. 

“Yes ma’am,” I said. 

“You two must know there's no such thing as a free lunch, hmm?” 

I frowned, confused. “Uh, we do, ma'am.” 

“Excellent.” Ethel placed the hotdogs on the counter. I noticed her eyes for the first time that her eyes were bright yellow—unnaturally yellow. I wondered if she wore colored contacts or something. 

_What old lady you know wears colored contacts_? 

Next to me, Hayden's hand crept into her bag. Her eyes were as hard as diamonds. 

“I can't give you your food,” she said, “not yet. Not until you answer my question.” 

I had no idea what she was talking about and, honestly, Ethel was freaking me out. 

“No thanks.” My voice sounded steely, even to myself. “We just want our food.” 

“I can't do that.” 

I glared at her. “Then I want my money back.” 

I reached for the money and Ethel grabbed my hand, holding it in place on the counter. But it wasn't an old woman's hand on mine—it was the massive paw of a lion. Large black claws dug into my skin, drawing blood. 

My eyed went wide. I tried to wretch my hand back but Ethel held my hand still, claws going deeper. I realized that if she wanted to, she could rip my hand apart faster than I could blink. I stopped wiggling. 

“Good girl,” the Sphinx purred. “Now are you paying attention?” 

I looked back at Argus, but his eyes—only two of them visible— were busy looking for a taxi. I thought about speaking up to draw his attention, but I had no idea if Argus was a fighter. I didn’t want to endanger him if not. 

Hayden glowered at the Sphinx. “Let her go.” 

“No, I—” 

“You're making me mad—” 

“And you are testing my patience!” the monster snapped. “I have a special riddle for the two of you; all you need to do is answer it. If you can do that, then you get to eat. But if you don't, well… I eat.” 

She ran her tongue over her lips. I shivered. 

Hayden's stare was deadly cold. “Answer a question. That’s all we have to do? 

The Sphinx nodded.” 

“Fine. What is it?” 

“There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. What are their names?” 

“Gross,” I murmured. 

“Is that your final answer?” 

“No!” Hayden cried. “Can we have a minute?” 

Before the monster could answer, Hayden turned to me, whispering, “I’ve _never_ heard this one. I only thought that the Sphinx told one riddle about—” 

“ _Man_?” the Sphinx cut off, sneering. “Well, everyone’s heard that one. We can’t very well ask the same riddle over and over now, can we?” 

“I don’t suppose we get a hint now, do we?” I asked dryly. 

“No hints!” Her nails dug in a little deeper. 

“Okay!” I said, a little squeakier than I would like to admit. “No hints! Got it. Hayden, isn’t there a myth like this?” 

Hayden’s face was pale. I could almost see the gears turning in her head to come up with an answer. “I… I don’t—” 

“You give up?” the Sphinx asked. 

“No,” I said. I racked at my brain, but nothing came, just a stupid idea. “I know!” 

Hayden looked at me. “You do?” 

I gave her a look that said “just work with me here.” I glanced at her hand in her bag, hoping that she understood. Thank the gods she did. _Get ready for a fight_. 

“I do. The answer is, absolutely, without nary of a doubt, indisputably—” 

“Stop stalling!” 

“The answer is… Selene the moon goddess and her sister…Ios? No! Eos, goddess of the dawn. Right?” 

Hayden’s eyes widened. “Of course! They’re the two sisters. Eos is like day, Selene is sort of like night. The lead into each other, like birth. ” 

I exhaled, glad that all that reading finally paid off. I was feeling pretty smart, and a little proud of myself, until Ethel said, “Incorrect.” 

My stomach dropped into the underworld. 

“The answer,” she went on, “is Hemera and Nyx, of course. Day and night. You were half right, but I don’t count partial credit. Now, it is lunch time.” 

Sweat trickled down my temple. I’d be devoured before I could even get to my sword. 

Hayden’s brow knit together, deep in thought. She looked confused. “How can that even be the answer? Hemera is the daughter of Nyx, not her sister. That’s common sense.” 

Ethel glowered at her. “You dare to challenge my knowledge?” 

“I do! Your knowledge is weak and your question is _invalid_.” 

“Enough! Since you did not answer correctly, then I will—” 

In a blink, Hayden grabbed a dagger from her bag. She stabbed the monster in the wrist, narrowly missing my fingers. 

The Sphinx roared in pain. The cry turned into something more high pitch and shrill—it was so loud that I was sure that they heard it all the way in Jersey. The sound sent my heart into a gallop. 

Hayden grabbed my hand. “Come on!” 

I didn’t argue. Hayden and I sprinted down the street, leaving the Sphinx and the Empire State building behind us.


	8. Chapter 8

“Argus,” I panted. “What about—” 

“He’ll be fine,” Hayden said. “It’s us she wants.” 

We barreled down the sidewalk, pushing past tourist and peddlers who swore at us or shrugged and rolled their eyes. I followed Hayden, hoping that she had a plan. 

Behind us, Ethel was catching up. She clawed after us on all fours, mowing down pedestrians and yelling, “You will respect my knowledge and _DIE_!” 

“I don’t like the sound of that,” I said. 

Hayden pulled her _Ono_ out of her bag. “If it’s any consolation, I liked your answer better than hers.” 

We made a hard left into traffic, shoving past pedestrians and climbing over taxis that nearly hit us. 

Once we were on the other side of the street, I gathered the nerve to look back. Behind us, a FedEx truck slammed into Ethel, dragging her down the street. I would've cheered, but I knew that when she recovered she'd be royally peeved. 

Hayden and I kept running for a few more blocks before ducking behind an alley. We crouched behind a dumpster that rank so bad that it _had_ to cover our scents. 

“I think we lost her,” I said as we both caught our breath. 

Hayden peeked past the dumpster. “Maybe. We should get a taxi to the Empire State Building. Staying out longer than we need to is risky. When we're there we can send Argus an Iris Message so he won't worry.” 

At that point, going to Olympus was a better option than anything else. I was about to agree when a voice above us said, “Good idea, girly. Too bad you won't see it to fruition.” 

We stood, our weapons ready. I looked up, expecting to see Ethel, but instead saw a different Sphinx. This one was just as old and as withered as Ethel, but had ugly thick framed glasses straight out of the eighties, and dull pink hair (in a beehive hairdo, I might add) instead of blue. Her name tag read “Edna.” 

Edna slinked down the brick wall before landing on the concrete right in front of us. “You two must be the disrespectful girlies we heard about,” she said. “Let me show you what disrespect earns you around here!” 

She lunged at us, talons flashing, fangs bared. 

I slashed my sword. The moment it connected with her, Edna exploded in a shower of sand. 

“Let's grab that cab now,” I decided. 

Hayden nodded, but didn’t move. Her brow furrowed, and I could tell she was thinking. “I don't like what she said.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“She said _we_ when she told us that she knew about us. There are more of them out there.” 

I wasn't thrilled by the sound of that. 

As we left the alley, a lion's roar froze me in my tracks. 

From our right, I heard the scratching of several claws against the sidewalk. A half a dozen Sphinxes exploded from the corner and charged at us. 

Like I even need to say that we ran like Hades. 

One or two Sphinxes was manageable between the two of us. But a pack of them (a murder of Sphinxes? Yeah, that sounds about right) was more than I was willing to take on. Call me crazy, but I wasn't about to push my luck with six or seven homicidal lion/grandma hybrids drunk with murder lust. 

Even I had my limits. 

I was about sick of running, but I didn't dare stop. We weaved in and out of alleys and backtracked to shake them off, but it never worked for long. 

A few managed to catch up with us. One—Edith— caught up to us, slashing at Hayden's leg. Hayden swung her axe and decapitated the lioness. Another Sphinx—Elsa— clawed at my arm. I ran her through with my sword and sent her to straight to Tartarus. 

We did that for a while—kill, run like Hades, kill again, run some more, but more monsters joined the chase faster than we could kill them. We were slowing down. Sooner or later, they would catch us and have us for lunch. 

The two of us managed to lose them again. We dove into another alley and was about to bolt again, but— 

Dead end. 

I swore in Ancient Greek. 

Hayden turned. “We have to—” 

Too late. 

A dozen Sphinxes appeared in front of us in the alley, blocking our exit. 

We needed an escape. I looked around desperately. The ladder? No, it led to the roof, and it wouldn't do us any good. The Sphinxes would just follow us and we wouldn’t be able to escape. A window? Only one and it was covered with bars. I could cut through them easily, but it would take too long. Sooner or later, we'd be surrounded by Sphinxes and torn apart by the league of crusty old ladies with claws and fangs and sewing needles. 

Y’know… not the way I'd picture I go out. 

“We're trapped,” I said, stating the obvious. “We have to fight them.” 

Hayden shook her head. “There are too many.” 

She was right, but we had no choice. 

At the end of the alley the two granny lions took the lead of the group. They slinked forward slowly, mockingly, because we were as good as dead. 

“We have run,” Hayden said matter-of-factly. 

I gave her a look. “Where?” 

“Anywhere that’s not here.” 

She grabbed my hand and raced towards the brick wall. Before I could protest, we shot straight into the shadows and was engulfed in the Stygian cold. 

~*~ 

Shadow travel—is—not—fun. Period. Hands down. No argument. 

First of all, it was dark. Can't-see-my- _frea¬king_ -hand-in-front-of-my-face dark. The whispers of a million ghosts came from all directions across the void, prickling my skin and tugging at me. An icy blast shot straight through me as we tumbled through the darkness. 

We rematerialized… somewhere. I was too disoriented after that quite pleasant ordeal. The first thing I registered was the warm blanket of sunshine thawing my bones and the smell of the ocean. 

Hayden slumped on the side of a peach colored wall of somebody's house. She looked about ready to faint. 

“You okay?” I asked. 

“I'm fine,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I think I can—” she tried to stand, but then stumbled. I caught her before she fell. 

“Just relax,” I said, easing her into a sitting position. 

“It’d be easier to relax if I know where we are.” 

“You don’t know where you sent us?” 

“No. But I sense a beach nearby. Let’s find out where we are, preferably before the owners of the house come out and shoot us.” 

I made her relax for a few minutes before taking her arm over my shoulder and helping her stand. 

“So that was travel shadow, huh?” I asked as we left the property. “I… I don't like it.” 

Hayden looked surprised that I knew what it was. I explained that I saw Nico do it once before he left camp. 

She nodded. “We talked about that. Shadow travel wipes him out, too. Do you remember that week I was absent in the fifth grade?” 

“Yeah?” 

“That was the first time I did that. It knocked me out cold. Now it only makes me extremely tired. And hungry.” 

My own stomach growled in agreement with that sentiment. “Let’s find some food.” 

~*~ 

The house we appeared next to was a two story bungalow with neatly trimmed grass and plastic flamingos stuck in the ground. All the houses that we pasted were the same, only in different colors and with other tacky lawn ornaments. 

We walked down a few blocks, following the smell of the ocean. I figured where there’s a beach, there’s decent chance of finding a snack bar. We passed more identical homes, along with children playing in yards and people walking their dogs. None of them paid us any attention. 

People became more frequent as we went. We met a swarm of them as soon as we hit the boardwalk. 

The boardwalk divided the shops and the beach. To one side, there were a couple of novelty and curio stores peppered between a surf shop, a pizza place, gift shops, and a boutique. A baby blue hotel sat next to a bistro and a bike rental store. 

People cluttered the worn wooden strip with foot traffic, some in bathing suits and bikinis. A few carted around on roller blades and pedicabs and bike-cars. 

On the other side of the boardwalk was a beach, crowded with tourist and locals alike. They were all enjoying the beach as if it were the middle of summer instead of the beginning of fall. But then again, I had no idea where we were. We could be in Australia for all I knew. 

A breeze carried the smell of pizza over to us. I swear my stomach growled, “Food! Glorious food! Cheese and pepperoni and mushrooms, oh my!” 

Whoa, there. Hallucinations. I was pretty sure that was a sure sign of starvation. 

“Pizza?” I asked Hayden. 

“Pizza,” she agreed. 

The pizza on the boardwalk was _almost_ as good as the pizza back home. It also came with the added bonus of not getting us killed by monsters. We sat on the beach, eating our lunch and people watching. It was nice to relax and joke around with Hayden about people's unwise choices of beach attire. (The less you know about Uncle Grandpa and his leaves-nothing-to-the-imagination polka dotted Speedo, the better). 

I insisted that we stay put, but Hayden got antsy, so we decided to walk around and go window shopping. There was a surf shop with a wicked board with wave and shark designs, but that was _way_ out of my current price range. Hayden saw a necklace she liked, a skull carved into a seashell, but that was pretty expensive, too. Besides, she said, she liked her skull-and-cross bones necklace anyway. 

Hayden and I went from store to store passing hotels that played lived piano music and trendy little cafés. We went inside one to try to figure out where we were. Turns out, we were in New Jersey, which was a relief. I didn't have enough money for a cab, so we'd have to wait for Hayden to recover to shadow travel again. 

I didn't relax too much the whole time. I knew it was ridiculous to worry about Mrs. Tot finding me. She wouldn't know where I was. But still… I couldn't help it. It was always in the back of my mind. 

The two of us sat by a small fountain decorated with little naked cupid babies. I had just enough money to buy us cheese burgers for dinner. 

As we ate, five of the most attractive boys on the face of the planet passed us by. They were with a couple of girls who were fawning over them worse than I would have if I were in there expensive shoes. What would you call a group of hot boys? A gaggle? A riot? 

One of the boys caught me staring (read: gawking) and _winked_ at me. Either I was blushing like mad or someone set my face on fire while I wasn't looking. 

Hayden handed me a napkin. 

I stared at it. “What’s that for?” 

“Oh, for your chin,” she said, trying not to grin. “You're drooling.” 

“Shut up, Kawaguchi.” 

We went back to the beach just as the sun was starting to set, turning the clouds pink and the ocean gold. We sat farther away from the crowd, trying not to look suspicious. The beach had a curfew, so I knew that would be a problem since it looked like we were sleeping here tonight. 

I watched a life guard climb down from his post to round up the other beach goers. Namely the ones in bikinis and bleached blond hair. With his tan skin and curly, sandy hair, I thought that he looked familiar. 

“Already making googly eyes at someone new?” Hayden asked. 

“What? No-oo… I'm just thinking how easy that job would be for the two of us, being water benders and all.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Stop calling it that. It's not the same thing. And I know _you're_ not thinking about a future career.” 

I crossed my arms. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“The last time Mr. Briggs made us take one of those future career quizzes, you thought it was a test and chose C for every question. You got _English teacher_.” 

“Who cares anyway?” I shrugged. “I'll probably work at my grandparents’ boat shop in the city or something.” 

“But haven't you ever wanted to do something more than get a boring job like everyone else?” Hayden asked. “Don't you want to, you know, see the world?” 

Until Hayden said that, I'd never really thought about it. I’d always enjoyed vacations with my family, but I never really thought about travelling to experience a culture or for fun. 

Hayden hugged her knees to her chest. “That’s what I want to do, Kai. I want to go on a trip across the country. I want to go to Egypt and see the pyramids. And I want to go to Japan and see if I have any family there.” 

She sighed, digging her boots into the sand. “I don't know what I want to be either. I always figured there wasn't a point. Not for me anyway.” 

I frowned, confused. “Why not?” 

She shuffled uncomfortably in her spot. “Well, you know that most Demigods don’t live past twenty.” 

I did, but I never really thought about it. I figured it was an exaggeration; there were demigods who lived past twenty—Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Shakespeare. There _had_ to be more, and I would be one of them. 

Hayden continued. “Kai, for me, the odds for me are much worse. I have too many gifts.” 

“Because you're a child of Thetis and a descendant of Hades, right?” 

“No,” she muttered. “Not exactly.” 

“What do you mean?” 

She was silent for what felt like minutes, her pale green eyes locked onto the sea. I thought that they looked like green sea glass, sharp and fragile. Whenever Hayden was sad, it looked as if her eyes would shatter at any moment. 

Finally, she spoke. “Kaia, there’s something… I know I shouldn’t tell you, but you’re my best friend and I know I can trust you with anything.” 

“What is it, Hayden?” 

“I'm not a descendent of Hades. Not really. I’m a legacy of Pluto.” 

She looked at me expectantly, as if expecting me to freak out over a big revelation. I didn’t get it. 

“So? There's no difference, it’s just a different name for the same god.” 

“It’s not. At camp they tell you that the gods have only one form, their original Greek ones, but that's not true. It’s, well, it’s kind of complicated…” 

Hayden told me everything she knew, starting from the beginning: when the Rome was founded, the gods’ personalities and aspects split. Some were drastically different (like Ares was violent and belligerent, while Mars was more tactful and levelheaded) while some minor gods didn’t change much at all. Greek and Roman demigods had no idea that the others existed, because whenever we meet, they kill each other. A Roman camp was somewhere in California, but Hayden had no clue where it was. 

Nico knew, too. She wouldn't go into details, but somehow the secret was slipped and the two of them started to talk more and feel more comfortable around each other. 

Looking back on it now, it’s almost funny that I didn’t react the way any other normal demigod would. Attribute that to my amateur-ness and naiveté, I guess. The whole world of the Greek gods being real was still all too new for me, so this news didn’t really shock me. 

“I saw that Poseidon would claim you,” Hayden explained, “but the vision wasn’t clear. I wasn’t so sure that it was Poseidon. I thought that maybe… maybe your godly parent was Neptune instead. That’s why I didn’t tell you, Kai. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” I said, and I meant it. I was well past that by now. “Why did you think my father was Neptune and not Poseidon?” 

She shrugged. “A hunch. I’ve known you for years, Kai. You give off a different… vibe I guess you could call it, than Percy. But I guess I was wrong. I don’t think that Poseidon or Neptune would risk you going to a Greek camp if you were Roman.” 

She grabbed something black from her bag—her dad's old leather jacket—and put it on. “My dad was kicked out of the Roman camp for insisting that they pursue more Greek customs,” Hayden said. “That's when he met Thetis. She didn’t change much in Roman times, so she usually stays Greek. She's traditional that way.” 

She gazed back at the ocean, as if trying to see beyond it. A brief look of anger flashed in her eyes. 

“When… when I was born, Thetis gave me the gift of foresight. She only gives a few of her children that power. Since Achilles, Thetis wanted her children to have a better chance at surviving. After he was born, well, you already know the story. 

“But…my power—it’s inconsistent and useless and I never actually see what I want. Sometimes I see little things I can change, and that's good in a life or death situation. But sometimes it shows me these big events that I have no power to stop. I saw… I saw my dad's death, Kaia.” 

My jaw dropped. I was speechless. I mean, what do you say to something like that? “Hayden… I had no idea.” 

“Thetis wanted to protect me without overpowering me. I hate this power. You have no idea how much it’s _killing_ me.” 

Hayden wiped her eyes. It nearly broke my heart to see her that upset. 

Hayden and I have always been close—she was closer to me than my own sister. Since coming to Camp Half-Blood, I was baffled at how different she was to me and yet, not that much different at all. She seemed more _herself_ now, not worrying about keeping any secrets or being attacked by monsters every day. And that made me happy. 

But now I was aware of a new sadness, too—the burden of foresight. I’ve heard in movies and TV shows how seeing into the future was a curse more than a gift. Knowing too much about the future could be disastrous. Trying to change it could be even worse. In the long run, Hayden’s power wouldn’t help her much and she knew that. 

Hayden looked miserable, staring blankly at the sea. The sun had finally set and the crescent moon cast a silver glow onto the bluish black waves. 

“Tell me about the places you wanna go,” I said. 

She smiled at me gratefully and started to talk about all the places she wanted to go and sites that she wanted to visit. She put such a good spin on it that I was feeling excited with her. I wanted to go to all these places with her, eating food and sightseeing, like we did that day. I imagined us older, more mature. We were free. We didn’t need to worry about gods or monsters or any of this Greek/Roman stuff. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time with my best friend. 

That’s when the fantasy unraveled. 

“Oh, my,” a familiar female voice said behind us. “What have we got here? A couple of brats out past curfew?” 

My gut twisted. Hayden swore in Latin. 

Mrs. Tot—Amymone, whatever— slinked her way towards us as if she had all the time in the world. Her usual teacher outfit was gone and was instead replaced with a white and gold Greek chiton. A gold wreath was placed in her braided hair. She looked like a princess, which she was. Her dark eyes were cold and full of hate. 

Hayden and I stood together, shoulder to shoulder, weapons at the ready. 

Amymone laughed at us. “Really, children? You have the nerve to kill your old teacher?” 

Hayden didn’t falter. Her eyes shot daggers at Amymone. “I never liked you anyway.” 

Our ex-teacher frowned. “Believe me, the feeling is mutual. Sea gods and their children are never reliable. Always restless. Unpredictable. Aren’t I right, Kaia?” “I know who you are,” I said. “Who you really are.” 

Amymone looked shocked for a split second before her expression shifted back to malice. “That’s the problem with heroes. You all think you have it all figured out, but you never do. You are all ignorant. You have no idea how far this goes.” 

“You’re Amymone,” I continued. I sounded sure and confident, which surprised me. “The princess of Argos. You and your sister’s murdered your husbands and—” 

“I AM _INNOCENT_! It was my father—my sisters, they convinced me—made me— I had no choice!” 

“That’s no excuse,” Hayden said. “No one can make you. You’re just as guilty.” 

Amymone looked at me with helpless eyes. I could almost see remorse in there. _Almost_. “Would you defy you father, too? Even if he ordered you to do something heinous?” 

“Of course I would!” I said. 

“Just you wait. Poseidon will send you on a fruitless quest eventually. And you won’t be able to refuse.” 

I shook my head. “That’s not the same. You _killed_ someone. Now you want to kill us.” 

That’s when Amymone surprised me. She _laughed_. “That’s where you’re wrong. I only need to kill you.” 

“Why kill me? You won't gain anything.” 

“Oh, but I do. By disposing of you, I eliminate a possible threat for my patron. In return she will reward me. My son is a child of a big three god, but he gets no fame, no recognition. However, when I get rid of you, I will have my son back, and he shall become greater than any child of Poseidon. Stronger than Bellerophon. More clever than Theseus. More eloquent than Winston Churchill.” 

Nothing she said made sense. Who was this patron she kept mentioning? Why did they want me dead so badly? How powerful could they be to be able to raise someone from the dead? And why send one of Poseidon’s ex-girlfriends to axe me off? 

Amymone composed herself. “Enough talk. I’ve brought a more vicious brood to do my bidding this time. And they are _quite_ hungry.” 

~*~ 

I would like to tell you that when I saw the monsters I believed that we had a chance, but that would be a load of Minotaur crap. 

Amymone pulled a white whistle and blew it with all her might. This time, the sound was low and deep, as if it were trying to claw its way into the center of the earth. The noise filled me with dread. 

The first monster approached from the ocean, its murky image growing as it got closer. It rose, towering over the surf, and my heart stopped beating. 

“I’d like you girls to meet the Indus Worms,” Amymone chuckled. “Don't let them catch you. Everything they catch, they eat.” 

_Worm_ was definitely a misnomer. The Indus Worm was less of a worm and more of a jawless fish, but that didn’t make it any less terrifying. It was a ten foot long lamprey with beady red eyes and rows and rows of dangerously sharp teeth. 

Not a second later, five more arrived from the water behind the first one. All just as big and horrifying. 

We made the mistake of staring too long. 

Hayden was as white as a sheet. Her eyes were wide. She looked about ten years old and full of fear. 

“Come on!” I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the shore. 

That got her into gear. Hayden raced ahead of me, not daring to look back. 

Behind us, Amymone roared with laughter. “Go ahead and run! That’s all you know how to do!” 

To our left, one of the worms ascended from the water, ready to strike. I grabbed Hayden by the collar of her jacket and yanked her back before it got her. 

I slashed at the monster’s neck, disintegrating it. 

Hayden looked at me, and I was surprised that I understood what she was silently telling me. Together, we summoned a wave, sweeping the monsters further away. It didn’t kill them, but it bought us a few extra moments to run. 

“We need to get away from shore,” Hayden said. 

It was easier said than done. 

Another worm managed to catch up to us. Hayden raised a blob of water and it hardened into a solid mass. As the worm struck it, she closed her hand into a fist, wrapping the water around its mouth. 

It thrashed, but Hayden didn’t break her grip. She clenched her hand tighter and crushed the worm into sand. 

She turned to face me. There was a wild look in her eyes. “Don’t let them get anywhere near you! My dad, he—” 

She never finished her thought. 

The worms that were behind us finally caught up. We ran, until we were confronted with worms in front of us as well. 

We were completely surrounded. Our luck had run out. There were too many for us to take down, and I was sure that eventually the two of us would be overrun, but I wasn’t about to go down without putting up a fight. 

I have no idea how we were able to hold out or so long. The two of us fought in perfect sync, stabbing and slashing and cutting the Indus Worms down. Every once in a while Hayden or I would raise a watery tentacle to smash one of the monsters to dust. 

The Indus Worms could move fast, but they were slow attackers. They couldn’t be out of the water for too long, but they had a fast recovery time. 

My heart hammered against my chest. Our clothes were tattered and we were soaked with salt water. (We didn’t bother to keep ourselves dry). Hayden had a cut on her cheek and a scary look in her eyes. 

No, not scary. Murderous. 

Hayden and I were starting to tire out. At any moment, our luck would run out. We were overdue. 

I was too slow to block an attack from a worm to my left. I raised a shield of water, but the monster broke through it easily. I struck out with my sword, aiming for the side of its neck. The worm knocked me aside with the force of a truck. I felt the bones in my left arm shattered. I hit the sand with a cry. 

“Kaia!” Hayden cried. 

She stabbed the jewel of her axe into the sand. Time slowed down around us. 

Hayden went still—so motionless you'd think she saw the face of Medusa.  Her eyes glowed pitch black; smoke escaped her empty sockets. She radiated absolute fear and death. I felt like crawling into a hole to hide from my own demise. For the first time in my life, I truly feared my best friend. 

The veins around her eyes bulged. She let out a violent scream in Latin. 

The ground shook. A wave of black energy shot from her body, hitting the worms, and making them burst into flames and erupt into sand. Amymone… she wasn't a monster, technically, so what happened to her was the most horrible. 

Her skin lost every pigment of color she had. She withered and hardened until her skin cracked like ice in warm water and broke into dust. Her inner muscles and organs peeled away and turned to dust until I saw her skeleton. White bones and a grinning skull caught ablaze and turned to ash. 

The earth stopped shaking. The glow in Hayden’s eyes faded back to normal. She collapsed like a sack of brick. 

My heart dropped. “Hayden!” 

I ran to her and scooped her up in my arms. Her breath was shallow. She stared ahead blankly, her eyes milky white. Her head lolled. 

More worms kept coming out of the water, racing towards us. 

I felt my rage boil inside of me. I stood, facing the monsters, no weapon in my hands. “Stay away from her! _Go away_!” 

My vision went red. A wave roared in my ears, and I let my rage explode in one guttural cry. Then the whole world went silent.   

I don't remember much after that. Just wave after violent wave of salt water crashing and swirling and surging, powered with a fury that I've never felt before. An explosion of sand. A roar—maybe from the monsters, maybe from me. My stomach ached painfully. My arm was on fire. I didn’t stop. 

My anger died down. I was standing alone on the beach. No monsters or murderous teachers. The only sound was the ocean lapping gently against the shore. Slowly, my senses came back to me. 

A crumpled heap of black lay ten feet from me. I gasped. 

“Hayden!” I rushed towards her. 

She was limp and still in the sand. Her skin was pale and clammy.  I couldn’t find her pulse. 

My heart sank. The pain in my gut stayed with me. I felt as if my organs had exploded inside of me, and I was slowly dying with her. 

I grabbed Hayden’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Hayden…” 

She stared blankly up at the stars. “K-Kaia?” 

“I'm here. I’m right here. Don't move.” 

I looked around frantically for Hayden’s bag. I spotted it a few yards away from where we were. 

“Hold on,” I told her. I squeezed her hand reassuringly before scrambling after her lavender bag. 

Hayden, somehow, sensed when I came back. “The worms…” Her voice as dry as sand paper. “Did you…?” 

“I did.” I said, confirming her suspicion. “I… I don’t know how.” 

Hayden grimaced, then nodded as if she understood. “I can't see, Kaia. I… I'm scared.” 

I shuddered, holding back a sob. It took everything in me to not start bawling. I started to go through the bag more desperately. Thank the gods—she had an extra ambrosia square. 

I fed it to her, working her jaw to help her chew it. Hayden’s stare became more focused. But she still looked badly battered and bruised. Part of me knew it couldn’t save her. What she did to the monsters… to Amymone… it burned her up from the inside out. Just like she said. _No_ , I thought. I can’t accept that. I _refuse_ that. I can’t just let Hayden— 

“Th-the water.” My voice cracked. “It’ll heal you.” 

Ignoring the pain in my arm, I picked Hayden up and carried her deeper into the ocean. I laid her down so that the water came up to face. Immediately some if her scars started to heal. Her breathing steadied, although it was still very weak. 

She looked at me with eyes like broken glass and frowned. “I'm sorry.” 

I blinked back tears. “What are you sorry for?” 

“I didn't think I would… not like this. Not now.” 

A golf ball in my throat grew into a softball. “J-just relax, Hayden. Please.” 

“No.” Very weakly, she grabbed my hand. “Listen. You can’t blame anyone… for this. Not me, not Thetis, and not yourself. It won’t… it won’t solve a thing. It’ll eat you alive. Trust me.” 

“You’re gonna be fine,” I insisted. “You’re—” 

“Please, Kaia. Promise me…swear on the Styx.” 

“I… I promise. I swear on the River Styx.” 

She smiled weakly. “Good...” 

Hayden started to relax. Her eyes went out of focus again. 

“Dad…” she whispered. 

She closed her eyes. She didn't move again. 

I couldn't hold back any more. I pulled Hayden’s body into a hug and started to sob. 

My heart felt like it was ripped apart and trampled on. Nothing around me existed. I didn't think to move or get help. All I could do was cry and cry and cry. 

I knew I couldn’t stay here forever. Someone would find me and start asking questions or call the police. I couldn’t be here when someone came snooping. 

There was no choice. Gently, I draped Hayden’s arms over my shoulder and carried Hayden's lifeless body on my back. I didn't have a plan— my only thought was to get away from the ocean and away from this town. 

I cried the entire time, trying not to think about the pain in my arm or Hayden's dead body on my back. I had to focus on what I had to do in that moment: moving forward. One foot in front of the other. 

Two miles out of the town I nearly collapse. Staggering, I dropped to one knee and tried not to drop Hayden. I was exhausted and soaked and miserable and emotionally over loaded. Black spots danced at the edge of blurred vision. This wasn't right. This wasn't real. It couldn't be… 

I heard the sound of large flapping wings above me, but I didn’t have the strength to look up. 

The sound died down. A pair of sneakers appeared in front of me. I heard my name, but I didn’t register the meaning or whose voice it was. I gather up the strength and courage to look up. 

Familiar sea green eyes stared down at me. Relief, anger, and joy swept over me all at once. I felt hands on my shoulder. Heard more voices. Then the weight was taken off of my back. I tried to protest, but instead I fell over hard on my bad arm. 

My whole arm was set on fire. The edge of my sight darkened. I could feel myself dip in and out of consciousness until everything went black and my mind let go.


	9. Chapter 9

I hate nightmares. 

You know the ones where fear engulfs you completely and you can’t move or scream? This one was like that, only ten times worse. 

I was back on… _that_ beach. I lay pathetically on the sand as Hayden hacked and slashed at the monsters trying to protect me. She looked determined, angry, and terrified all at the same time. 

From beneath us, a woman laughed lazily. It didn’t sound like Amymone. The voice was colder and crueler and older. Her laugh penetrated through the earth and hit me with a chilly blast. My heart went into overtime. 

Hayden hefted her axe, ready to strike the jeweled bottom into the sand. I tried to stop her—scream, move, anything that would prevent her from doing the move that would end her life. But I couldn’t move. All I could do was watch helplessly. 

She struck the ground. 

The earth beneath us shattered like glass, and we fell into darkness. 

I fell. And fell. Wherever I was, it was a million times worse than shadow travel. Colder, darker, lonelier. Dread tugged at my center, trying to tear me apart. My thoughts were clouded by fear and hopeless. 

I tried to call out for Hayden, but my voice still didn’t work. I couldn’t even see her. 

The woman from before was taunting me as I fell. Her word floated around me like a chill, never hitting my ears. 

Wind whistled in my ears, like the whispers of the dead. Somehow, I sensed that the ground was quickly approaching. I clenched my eyes shut, preparing to hit the ground. 

I hit the ground …and passed straight through the earth. 

I shrieked, which sounded like there was cotton balls stuck in my throat. I was trapped inside an earthen tomb of sharp rocks and wet soil. The earth itself was clutching me tight, making it hard for me to breath. I struggled uselessly, scratching myself up in the process. 

“Keep fighting, little hero,” the woman said mockingly in an eerie sing-song voice. Her voice came straight through the ground, reverberating off of my bones. “Soon you will see that it is all hopeless. Fighting is useless.” 

The earth shook violently, rocks and dirt falling on me, crushing me… 

~*~ 

I woke up in a familiar bed in a familiar room. A dude with shaggy blonde hair sat in a chair next to me reading a book with a guy in a suit holding a glowing book. 

“Déjà vu,” I muttered to myself. 

Will Solace jumped. He grinned. “You’re awake!” 

“I hope so.” 

I tried to sitting up in the bed when a sharp pain shot through my left arm. I whimpered (rather embarrassingly) and fell back on the bed. 

“Careful,” Will warned me. He helped me into a sitting position and handed me a small glass of nectar. It felt weird in my right hand. “You broke your arm really bad. I healed it, but it’s still going to be pretty sore.” 

I took a sip of nectar through the straw—it tasted like fruit punch and birthday cake. I grimaced, not because of the taste, because it reminded me of my last birthday at the beach: Hayden laughing as I chased her, trying to nail her with half-eaten cake. I convinced her to get onto my surfboard with me as we paddled out to sea. She freaked out when a huge wave crept up on us, and then we both laughed hysterically after it wiped us out… 

My throat felt like I had swallowed a billiard ball. 

“I heard what happened,” Will said, noticing the pained look on my face. “I’m really sorry about Hayden, Kaia,” 

I nodded, blinking back tears threatening to escape. “How’d you guys find us?” I winced. “Me? I mean…” 

“It was actually Annabeth and Percy who found you. They—” 

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Chiron came in, his horse half compacted into his wheelchair. When he saw that I was awake, he smiled. 

“Good, good,” he said. “You’re up.” 

He pulled his chair up to the side of the bed and put a hand on my knee. “How do you feel?” 

“Like I got run over by a conga line of semi-trucks.” 

Will and Chiron told me the whole story. After Hayden and I were separated from Argus, he let Chiron know what had happen (though how he did while he was mute, I had no idea).Chiron had Annabeth use her video shield to track us down after they couldn’t contact us via Iris Message. They guessed that there was some sort interference around us, but no one could figure out what caused it and why. 

“You were unconscious for two whole days,” Will continued. “In that time… the meeting in Olympus went on as scheduled.” 

Anger flared inside of me, threatening to burst. “Seriously? They didn’t bother to wait until I was awake? They didn’t even _need_ me to be there?” 

Will looked at me sympathetically, like he wanted to say something though wasn’t sure what. 

“Sometimes, it is difficult for the gods to be able to convene at one place all at once,” Chiron told me. “The council ruled in your favor. They decided that your life would be spared.” 

My shoulders slacked, as if a bunch of weight I had forgotten about had just fallen off my shoulders. Anger and guilt replaced it almost immediately. My chest felt hollow. 

I swallowed. “That’s… that’s great news, Chiron. I…” 

Chiron looked at me sadly. He started to say something, but I tuned out his words. I stared down at the haft empty glass of nectar. It was as if my insides were being eaten away. My eyes stung. 

A shiver ran through me, reminding me of the dream I had. I had the urge to tell Chiron when something stopped me. 

_It was just a dream_ , I reminded myself. _Dreams don’t mean anything_. I was just being paranoid. 

Still, I couldn’t shake off the cold feeling or how the earth was squeezing me to death, or the sound of the woman’s voice. 

~*~ 

The first and only funeral that I’ve ever been to was my grandfather’s. It was in a church; with mourners all dressed black, flowers, and a casket. Grandfather looked so peaceful, like he was just sleeping. That still freaks me out. 

Hayden’s funeral was nothing like that. 

Since she had no siblings at camp, I volunteered to make her funeral shroud. I had no clue what I was doing, so some of the kids from the Athena cabin stepped forward to help me since they were the best weavers. It was a purple shroud (her favorite color) with black trim. Seaweed, the symbol of Thetis, was placed in the middle. It was beautiful. 

Which made it all the more painful to burn. 

As her closest friend, I was given the honor to light her funeral pyre. Between using my weaker arm and the tears blurring my vision, it’s a wonder I didn’t burn anything—or anyone—else. 

I managed to say a few words before I started choking up. I didn’t know what to say that could I possibly sum up who Hayden was and what she meant to me? She like dark comedies, snored like freight train, and hated the color pink. That didn’t cover who she was. 

I sobbed quietly as the shroud burned. I hated myself for crying in public. This was too painful. It was more than I could handle. 

Once during the funeral rights, I thought I saw Nico di Angelo, but I wasn’t sure. He looked different—taller, older, no aviator jacket. When I turned back to see if it was really him, he vanished. 

Before I could ask Percy if Nico was actually here, there was a brilliant flash of blue and white light, and a beautiful auburn-haired woman in a blue sundress was standing next to Mr. D. A look of pure sorrow was plastered on her vaguely familiar face. 

Everyone gasped or took about three steps back. Someone near the back of the crowd tripped and fell with a “gak!” Even Chiron and Mr. D looked a bit surprised. It was clear that this lady was a goddess. 

Mr. D nodded, acknowledging her. I was surprised to see a twinge of sympathy in his eyes. I thought Mr. D’s only emotions were cold, detached contempt and utter indifference. “Thetis.” 

I felt like I had been punched in the gut by Donkey Kong. 

The goddess smiled sadly at Mr. D. “Dionysus. You’re looking well. How are you? Are you treating the campers nicely?” 

A cough masking the word “nope” came from somewhere in the group. Mr. D shot everyone a warning glare. 

“I _am_ nice,” he said. “I hardly turned anyone into a shrub in hours.” 

“That’s excellent news. Unfortunately, under the circumstances, you’ll have to understand that this is not a casual visit. I came to speak to the girl." 

She motioned towards me, bringing unwelcomed attention to myself. I wanted to dig a hole and hide there forever. 

“Of course,” Mr. D said. 

Thetis walked past him in a surreal manner, like she was gliding on a wave, and stopped in front of me. When she moved, her dress rippled green and purple. She stared down at me with curiosity, like I was a really difficult puzzle that she knew she had to crack. 

I looked away from her familiar face. She had pale green eyes. 

“You must be devastated,” Thetis said, matter-of-factly. “What are your thoughts? How do you feel?” 

What were my thoughts? How did I _feel_? If she wanted to know that, then we would be here all day. Besides, if I started to talk, then I would cry again. 

I inhaled deeply. “I—I…” 

She smiled at me sadly. “Come. Walk on the beach with me.” 

~*~ 

“You are quiet. I imagine you're holding your pain on the inside?” 

Thetis’s presence seemed to make everything feel… crisper. The occasional cool breeze of ocean air was fresher; the sand softer; the ocean bluer. It all just made me feel all the more nervous. And guilty. 

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Inside…” 

I rubbed my still sore arm, which was in a sling. It was bitter reminder that what happened to Hayden was real. I couldn’t get the image of her glowing black eyes out of my mind: the way she killed the monsters, and Amymone; her pale eyes blinded from the power; Hayden’s last, dying breath. 

I shudder, my eyes tearing up. “I’m sorry.” 

“No need to apologize,” she said. “Silence is a natural response when dealing with pain.” 

“No,” I said miserably. “I’m sorry about… about Hayden.” 

Thetis stopped in her tracks and looked at me quizzically. Her eyes, which were so much like Hayden’s, made me want to cry all over again. “About Hayden? Why would you—” 

“I know that she could have out run the Indus Worms,” I interrupted without thinking. “She could have gotten away and would still be alive if it wasn’t for me. She’s dead because she wanted to protect me!” 

Tears were streaming down my face and I was blubbering like a baby in front of a goddess. I couldn’t help it. My chest felt hollow, like my heart was missing. My words flowed as freely as my tears. 

“I wasn't strong enough. Now she’s gone. You wanna know how I feel? I feel miserable and guilty and angry and _scared_.” 

I wiped my eyes, steeling myself for any kind of response from Thetis. I expected her to chastise me for being so weak, or yell at me for what happened to Hayden. I anticipated Thetis vaporizing me or turning me into a pile of kelp. 

The last thing I expected was for the goddess of water to _hug_ me. 

Her embrace was like a warm current of water after standing in the freezing cold. It made me feel calmer, more relaxed. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my breathing. 

“Hayden made me promise on the Styx to do the impossible,” I said after Thetis let me go. “She told me not to blame her, you, or myself for what happened.” 

“And do you?” 

“Yes,” I admitted, wiping my eyes. “I wish she hadn’t done that move. I wish I was strong enough to protect the people I care about. I wish—” 

I stopped myself before I could say anything I would regret. 

Thetis looked down at me with questioning eyes, like she was trying to figure out what was going on in my mind. “Go on.” 

“I wish you never gave Hayden the gift of foresight,” I said. “It made things hard for her. She hated it.” 

For a moment, Thetis’s eyes glowed dangerously bright. The air heated up ten degrees. I thought for a moment that she would zap me into a puddle of water. 

Then the angry light subsided. Thetis sighed and sat in the sand, not caring if her beautiful dress got dirty. She patted the spot next to her, inviting me to sit. I did. 

“Understand,” Thetis said, “that at the time, I believed what I did was for the best. I give the gift to my children because I wish for them to have long happy lives. However, with that power, great wisdom is needed. Choices have consequences and in the end you must choose your path. You create your own destiny. Hayden understood this. Alas, the odds are never in the favor of powerful demigods. I thought… I thought perhaps partial foresight seemed fair. But my poor daughter was not able to escape her fate in the end. Fate and destiny are complicated things, even for us gods.” 

“What the difference?” 

“Fate is inescapable, as awful as that sounds. Avoiding it is nearly impossible; any examples of someone defying fate are extremely rare. Destiny, however, is made through choices. You create your own path, which sounds a little more hopeful. Do you understand?” 

My head whirled. The last thing I wanted to get today was a philosophy lesson. “I think so. Still doesn’t make me feel any less miserable. Or guilty.” 

“You cannot blame yourself, child,” Thetis chastised. “You must honor an oath on the Styx. Breaking it will lead to serious consequences.” 

“I…” I swallowed back a protest. “I’ll try.” 

Thetis nodded looking back at the sea. Without looking at me, she said, “You fear that my daughter's destruction will also be yours.” 

I froze. It wasn’t a question. Slowly, I nodded, growing a sudden interest in my shoes. 

Another emotion to add to the list: shame. 

As if reading my thoughts, Thetis placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Your feelings of fear are normal. Any hero in your situation would feel the same way.” 

That was the first time I'd ever been called a hero sincerely. I should've been glad, but I wasn't feeling very heroic… 

“Hayden told me some things,” I said tentatively. “About the Roman gods.” 

Thetis tensed. “Has she now? My daughter has given you dangerous information. You must not tell anyone of what Hayden has revealed to you. The time is not right. Swear it on the Styx.” 

“I won’t,” I promised. “I swear it on the Styx.” 

Thunder boomed in the distance. 

Thetis’s nodded, satisfied. “You are more powerful than you know, Kaia Fischer. Fate isn’t always kind to powerful demigods. It does not make me happy to say that there will be more loss in your future.” 

“Not really looking forward to that…” 

She looked at me sympathetically. “That is the life of a hero. Loss, pain, and suffering. But there is also growth, friendship, love, happiness. You demigods are luckier than you think. You’re made out of stronger stuff than most mortals. Not only do you have to fight to survive, you must handle greater emotions than the average mortal. I’ve always admired that about heroes.” 

Thetis looked back at the sea, but her gaze was a million miles away. I wondered, rather awkwardly, if she was thinking about her mortal husband, Peleus, Hayden’s dad, or other morals that she’d ever fallen for. 

“Perhaps, Kaia Fischer,” Thetis continued, “in memory of my daughter, I will lend you some aid.” 

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“When my daughter was born, I gave her three gifts: the power over water, the power of speed, and the power of foresight. I am offering you one of these gifts.” 

I blinked, pretty sure I’d misheard her. “Wait. You’re _giving_ me power?” 

“Yes. However, there is also a price. If you agree to have one-third of her powers, you will gain some of her memories and experience some of the emotions she had when she was alive. They’ll be vague, but it’ll be as if Hayden has become a permanent part of you.” 

“Why are you offering it to me?” 

Thetis looked pained. “Perhaps I would like for my child’s legacy to live on. Perhaps I would like to see you live so that her sacrifice would not have been in vain.” 

I thought it over. What Thetis said was right: I was afraid that what happened to Hayden would happen to me. The fact that demigods don’t make it to twenty has never felt so real. I wanted to live and I was afraid that I was too weak to make it. 

Maybe it was dumb. Maybe it was selfish. But Hayden’s death was too hard. Too painful. I wanted her back. I knew she was gone forever… but maybe Thetis’s offer was the next best thing. 

I took a deep breath. “I… I accept your gift.” 

I told her what power I wanted. She nodded as if she understood why. 

“Let us proceed.” 

Thetis stood in front of me and I kneeled in front of her. She placed her fingers on my forehead and the outside world slipped away. 

A flood of emotions and memories swept over me before I was prepared. 

At first it was fine. I felt joy, peace, and love. Absolute love. I was a little girl holding my mother’s hand as we walked through a park. Dad stopped to snap a picture of us. Mother’s smile was even more brilliant than the sun. 

Mom was always so lovely and kind. Every time she saw me, she smiled and told me how special I was. 

Then it was my birthday. I was turning ten. There was a _Nightmare before Christmas_ cake, purple balloons, and all of my friends at my house. There was my best friend, laughing and smiling along with me. My best friend was always there, making me laugh and cheering me up. 

I got older, and starting understanding more. I now understood why Mom didn’t live with us, or why she never came to my birthday parties. I also understood the visions I got. I could see the future. Mom said that it was my gift, and that it would help protect me. 

There were monsters. It was the only time I was ever truly afraid of my dad. He destroedy any monster that dared to face him. He controlled fear and shadows. My dad was powerful. I thought that he was unbreakable. 

Dad wasn’t unbreakable. The monsters finally got the best of him. The visions that were supposed to help me survive now showed me his death at the hands of giant lampreys that never let go of anything they caught. There wasn’t even a body to bury. Crushing pain enveloped me. I couldn’t drown, but it felt like I was. 

My Dad was dead, and I couldn’t help but fear that I was soon behind. I knew it was my fate. I had too many gifts. Sooner or later, it would be my time, and I wanted to do everything I could before then. 

The monsters finally came for me at school. I’ve destroyed the schools pipes, totaled a golf cart, and wrecked the principal’s car. I felt guilty, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t tell the truth to anyone, and while that was awful it was nothing new. The worst part was that I couldn’t even tell my best friend. 

For a while all was well. When the monsters came, and I dealt with them. I started to feel better, more hopeful. Even when my best friend and I were chased through the streets and ended up at the camp, I thought that things are getting better. I could be honest with her. No more secrets. 

There were a flash of memories that made me happy. My best friend and I were picking strawberries in the warm sun. We were singing the cheesy songs during the campfire. I taught her how to manipulate water. 

Suddenly, the fear returned. We were running and fighting for our lives. I was so tired, but I couldn’t give up. If I did, we were both death, and I couldn’t let my best friend die… 

There was an explosion and everything went black. I collapsed, dying. I was _dying_. I couldn’t die now, I didn’t want to die. Not like this. 

_Not now_ , I prayed. _Please don’t let it be now…_

Suddenly, there was a loud _crack!_ It sounded the shattering of a thousand mirrors that came from the inside of my mind. My consciousness crumbled and reformed itself. I was myself again. My name is Kaia Fischer. 

I was brought back to reality to the sound of crying. Horrible, gut wrenching sobs. It took me a moment to realize the crying was coming from me. 

I fell to my knees and good hand, fingers digging into the sand. My breathing became shallow. My head pounded like someone had a sledge hammer was going to town with it on the inside of my skull. 

Thetis looked at me mournfully. A tear fell down her cheek. Without saying anything, she turned to mist and got carried off by the wind, leaving me feeling more broken than before. 

~*~ 

I sat on the beach watching as the waves crashed against the shore. I remembered the myth of how Poseidon created horses. Until then, I never understood what a sea god had to do with land animals. I imagined horses forming from the sea foam, galloping away towards freedom, hooves pounding the sand. Horses were free spirits. They didn't like to be constrained, like the ocean. That was my nature, too, I realized. I was of the ocean. 

When Thetis told me the price of her offer, I didn't think of any negative consequences of acquiring Hayden's memories. I didn't think the experience would be so heavy. I didn't prepare myself, and now I was shell shock. 

Seeing Hayden's memories, feeling her emotions made me feel completely jumbled, like I experienced a second life, which I had in a way. It still felt completely unreal to me. I realized that no matter how long or well you know someone, you'll never completely understand them. Maybe that wasn't a totally bad thing, but still… It left me feeling empty. 

I knew that there was a lot missing—emotions and thoughts that Thetis didn’t give me. That didn’t mean that the impact wasn’t there. Hayden carried so much pain and sadness when she was alive, now a part of that was with me forever. 

I felt as if I understood Hayden better now. I appreciated who she was even more. Thetis wanted me to experience all of that. She wanted me to understand Hayden more so that I would appreciate the power. 

A voice behind me broke me out of my thoughts. “Hi.” 

I jumped. The head counselor of the Hecate cabin, Lou Ellen, stood behind me. I've never spoken to her much. Whenever I saw her around camp, she always seemed to be cheerful and a little goofy, so I was surprised when I saw the grim expression on her face. 

She sat next to me, a little bit closer than I would've preferred, though I didn't say anything. “This probably won't make you feel any better, but…” 

Lou Ellen pulled out a lollipop that looked like a cartoon pig. She twirled it around absently. 

“You're not alone here. Everyone at camp has lost someone before. A friend or a sibling or something. In the last Titan war, a lot of my siblings and I fought on Kronos's side. A lot of them died. Hecate was granted amnesty on the terms that one of my brothers never came to camp. You’re not alone in this. Everybody here gets it. I mean, you can just ask anyone here and they can tell you the same thing, trust me. I'm rambling now. Here.” 

She handed me the lollipop. “Sugar helps.” 

I raised an eyebrow at the pig lollipop, but took it. “Thanks.” 

She smiled and pulled out another lollipop (a pigpop, I decided to call it) for herself. 

We sat in silence together, sucking on the pigpops. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a strange start to a strange friendship. 

~*~ 

People go on and on about the blue sky, but it's nothing compared to the ocean. To me, the ocean trumps the sky in beauty and vibrancy. Sometimes it's so blue, you'll swear it's dyed with food coloring. 

I floated on its surface, somehow knowing that I was about two or three nautical miles off the shore from camp. If I stayed put, the current would eventually carry me out all the way out into the middle of the Atlantic. I didn't care. I didn't care if I got carried all the way to Portugal. 

The water beneath me made me feel like I was on a bounce house. It was so soothing. My eyelids grew heavy. Warmth spread from my stomach to my every limb. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and— 

“Nice day, isn't it?” 

I didn't even flinch this time. 

A man in a fishing kayak materialized next to me. I say materialize because I know that he wasn’t there before. No man in his right mind would be this far out I the ocean in a kayak with no paddle and only a fishing pole, and he looked way too at ease to be stranded. 

“Poseidon,” I said. 

The god of the sea looked nothing like I’d imagine him to be. I always thought that he’d have a blue fish tail land long white flowing hair and beard (or was that Triton from _The Little Mermaid_?). Instead he was a middle age guy with black hair and sea green eyes just like Percy’s. His beard was neatly trimmed and his skin was tanned as if he spent a lot of time fishing in the sun. He wore a Hawaiian shirt with palm trees and coconuts. 

My overall assessment? Not very godly. 

Poseidon’s arrival sparked something inside of me. Anger and resentment bubbled inside me, threatening to burst like a volcano. 

“You'll have to forgive me for not curtsying,” I said. “I naturally lack respect for grown men who wear socks and sandals.” 

I expected him to smite me right then. I didn’t know if he could kill me with water, although if he couldn’t, he could always summon a horse and order it to trample me to death for being insolent. 

He didn’t seem to be offended. Poseidon nodded his head, like he understood how I was feeling. Like he was trying to be understanding and reasonable. 

Asshat. 

“What do you want?” I snapped. 

“I don’t suspect that you’d believe me if I told you this was just a friendly visit?” 

I paused, thinking back to my childhood and all the weirdness I’d manage to block out. “Nope. Don’t you gods have rules about this sort of thing? Visiting your kids and whatnot?” 

A small smiled played on his lips, which reminded me of Percy’s devious grin. It was weird how alike they both looked. 

“I can’t be expected to follow all the rules all the time,” Poseidon said. “You're the same way. That’s one of the many ways you and your brother are similar.” 

“You mean Percy?” 

A twinkle in his eye. “No. Well yes. I meant your older brother, Theseus.” 

“Oh.” Made sense. “My _waaaay_ older brother.” 

An uncomfortable silence followed. My life seemed to be filled with more and more of those lately. 

“Theseus birth was… interesting, to say the least,” Poseidon said. “Like yours, the details of his conception are very—” 

“Sketchy?” 

“Confusing. Some stories he was my son, others say he was the son of king Aegean.” 

I sighed, getting impatient. What was man getting at? “Yeah, but he’s _your_ son. How else could he survive underwater the way me and Percy can?” 

“You’re half right. Theseus was the son of Agean, as well as mine.” 

I frowned. “I don't understand.” 

“It's the same reason your sister is mortal and you're a half blood,” Poseidon explained. “I will spare you the details and logistics of it—” 

“Thank you.” 

“Kaia. You are different from other half-bloods, but that makes you no less of a hero. You are very much my daughter as you are his.” 

I let that sink in. Ever since I learned that Poseidon was my father, I’ve dreaded seeing my dad again and came to terms that my dad would always be my dad, regardless of who my godly parent was. This news made me feel happy, relieved, and feeling strange at the same time. 

“I have two dads,” I said, aloud. “That’s so…weird. I’m sure I saw this on TV before.” 

Then it hit me, and I cursed myself for being a moron for not realizing it before. 

“That day at the zoo,” I said. “That wasn't my dad. That was you, wasn't it? 

A small smile from Poseidon. “You were quite obsessed with Panda bears,” he recalled. “Personally, I prefer sea horses. The males carry their offspring in pouches, not unlike your uncle.” 

At first, I thought he meant my uncle Kristof. Then I remembered the myth of how Athena and Mr. D were born. “Oh, you meant Zeus. Almighty Zeus is my uncle. Well I won’t dwell on that.” 

Poseidon chuckled under his breath. I’ll admit it, I laughed a little, too. 

“Why did you come here?” I asked. 

Poseidon’s smile melted into a more serious expression. “As you know, the gods are forbidden to play favorites. I may not be able to see you for some time.” 

“Ancient laws and all of that, right?” 

“Yes.” But there was hesitation in his voice. I frowned. 

For a moment, I considered telling him that I knew about the god’s Greek/Roman split. Thetis said that I couldn’t tell anyone because it wasn’t the right time. I had a feeling that Poseidon knew what she meant. Then again, I doubted that he would tell me, even if I confronted him with it. Adults are like that, and I figured that gods would be no different. 

So I decided to not bring it up. 

“Okay,” I said. 

A few seconds of silence passed between us before Poseidon said, “I am sorry about your friend.” 

He sounded actually sincere. My eyes got watery. 

“She died a hero’s death,” he said. “She will go to Elysium.” 

A part of me wanted to roll my eyes and scoff. I’ve heard that lame line before when my grandfather died: “It’s okay, Kaia. Your grandpa is in heaven now.” But now, knowing that the gods existed and having one of them tell me that Hayden was going to be okay, I felt more at ease. 

Thunder rumbled in the clear sky, making the water quiver. 

“That would be my cue to go,” Poseidon said. “Remember our talk, Kaia. Know that you are a true daughter of mine… and tell Percy that I wish him well.” 

On that note, Poseidon melted back into the water, leaving me alone again. 

~*~ 

That evening, I was at basketball court. I had no idea why, since basketball wasn’t my sport. A few guys from the Apollo cabin asked if I wanted to join their game, but I declined. 

I sat on a bench on one side of the court while the guys from the Apollo took the other side. Each of them made almost every basket, which reminded me of a scene from the movie _Pleasantville_. Normally, watching a shirts vs. skins game between a bunch of good looking guys would’ve been fun, but my mind was focused on other things. 

I stood, dribbling the ball, and threw it ungracefully at the back board. It ricocheted off the hoop and came back for me. I ducked out of the way, the ball missing my face by a half inch. 

“Ugh!” 

Percy stood behind me, hand covering his stomach. 

“You know,” he groaned, rubbing the spot where the ball hit him, “it helps to tuck in your elbows.” 

I grimaced. “Sorry, Percy.” 

“No problem.” He went to pick up the ball and I noticed that he was carrying a purple bag over his shoulder. Hayden’s bag. I tensed. 

I sighed, and tried to act normal. “Basketball isn't really my sport, y'know? There's no kicking or running. Just tedious dribbling and jogging.” 

“Hey!” he protested, a grin on his face. “It's not that boring.” 

“That's true. It could be golf. Or worse.” 

“Nothing's worse than golf. Well, maybe soccer.” 

“Hey, I like soccer. A sport’s not a sport without the constant risk of breaking your tibia.” 

Percy chuckled. 

I shifted on my feet. “So… you any good at basketball?” 

He grinned as he tossed me the ball. “I’ll give you a few pointers.” 

Percy gave me a quick lesson, telling me to tuck my elbows and aim for the square on the backboard (“ _That’s_ what that’s for?”). Pretty soon, we started a game of Horse. I did okay—I wasn’t nearly as sucky as before. In the end, Percy wiped to floor with me. Twice. 

Afterwards, we sat on the benches, silently watching as the game between the Apollo cabin guys. It wasn’t an awkward, uncomfortable silence, just the silence of two people who’re enjoying each other’s company. 

So, of course, I had to go and ruin it. Awkwardness was my forte, after all. “I met Poseidon today.” 

Percy’s smile shrunk.“Really. What did he say to you?” 

“He just explained some things to me. He gave me a stuffed panda as a kid, he and my dad are both somehow my father.” 

Percy looked about as confused as I felt, like I’d just flicked him in between the eyes and ran away laughing. “That’s…” 

“Weird? Tell me about it.” I flipped the basketball back and forth between my hands. “Poseidon seems…nice enough. He told me to tell you that he wishes you well.” 

I couldn’t place the look on Percy face. Confused? Concerned? Maybe a little bit happy? His brow scrunched up, and I could tell he was thinking. Whatever was on his mind, he didn’t share. 

Percy picked up Hayden’s lavender bag. I’d almost forgotten that he had that. 

“Annabeth and I found this at the beach,” he said. “Your sword and Hayden’s axe are both in there. You should have it.” 

Hesitantly, I took it. “Thanks, Percy,” I said. “Thanks for… y’know. Everything.” 

“It’s okay,” he said. “No big deal.” 

“Yeah, it kinda is.” 

I let the basketball fall onto the ground and watched as it dribbled away. “The other night when Hayden and I…” my voice caught in my throat. 

“You don’t have to tell me.” 

“I want to tell someone. I won’t be able to tell my family the truth and, well… there’s no one else I trust enough to tell. Someone should know what really happened.” 

So I told him everything, from that night at school when Amymone chased Hayden and me through the city  and Annabeth saved us, to me discovering who Amymone was, to how Hayden died. 

It was hard. I kept choking whenever I mentioned Hayden, but it felt good to talk to someone about this who would understand what I went through. 

I’d just finished telling Percy about my talk with Thetis when the conch horn blew, signaling that it was time for dinner. 

We made our way to the dining pavilion. During dinner, I burned part of my meal and thanked Poseidon. Thanking him for giving me a friend—and brother—like Percy. 

~*~ 

A car accident. 

As far as my family knew, Hayden died in an accident when my “school” took us on a fieldtrip. She died almost instantly. Hayden’s body was taken by her mother’s side of the family who held a very private funeral for her. 

Chiron told me the story he fed my parents before I left to go home. I _hated_ it. I hated lying to my parents. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve lied to my parents before (hustling candy in exchange for money isn’t something they’d exactly approve of). I was fourteen and immature—of course I have. Still, I never lied to them about anything _this_ major before. It made me feel awful, even though I got why I had to go along with the charade. 

The worst part, though, was having to go through Hayden’s funeral all over again. 

We held a small memorial for Hayden at my house. Mom and Dad invited our friends from school. Their parents brought over flowers and food. There was a lot of crying. Everyone came up to me to say how sorry they were. 

I cried. I sat on the couch away from everyone else. I didn’t speak to my old friends much, not even Axel. They wouldn’t understand the same why I did. They couldn’t. 

Alana hugged me almost the entire time. I didn’t push her away. She was crying nearly as bad as I was, and as much as I hated to see her like that, I appreciate the fact that she wasn’t trying to act strong or put on a brave face when she didn’t need to. 

Dad offered to take me, Alana, and our friends out to get dessert to wherever I wanted to go, but I wasn’t feeling up to it. I just wanted to go to my room and rest. 

My room at home always felt a little alien to me since I spent most of my time at St. Catherine’s. My parents let me and Alana decorate it however we wanted (believe me when I tell you that Lana’s room was a fluorescent pink nightmare). The walls to my room were painted my favorite shade of green and covered with posters of my favorite movies and bands. The bookcase held DVDs, comic books, surf trophies, CDs and old art projects; anything except actual books. A small desk was by my door. Olive colored bed sheets hid old and faded _Iron Giant_ sheets. 

I flopped down on my bed, careful to avoid hurting my arm and started flipping channels on TV absently. I stopped when I landed on Cartoon Network. 

I watched cartoons for what felt like hours, though with my ADHD, time was always iffy. I’d hoped that TV would serve as a distraction and cheer me up. No such luck. 

A knock at my door made me nearly fall off of my bed. 

“Come in,” I said. My voice was hoarse. 

It was my mom, carrying a plate of food. Wordlessly, she sat down on my bed to my right. 

I rested my head on my mother’s lap. She smoothed my hair the way she used to do when I was little and upset. Everything was so simple back then. 

“You hungry?” she asked softly. 

“I dunno,” I said. 

“Do you want to cry?” she asked me. 

“I’m sick of crying. I’m bleeding my tear ducts dry.” 

“Oh, _honey_.” 

My mother sounded so heartbroken. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes again. 

I moved to hug her with my good arm. She rubbed my back soothingly, letting me cry into her shoulder. 

Eventually, my sobs turned into heavy breathing. Something was tugging at my heart, dying to tell my mom what’s been bothering me. 

Through shudders, I manage to say, “I k-keep thinking that…that what happened to Hayden…it’s gonna happen to me someday.” 

“Kaia,” my mom moved to look me in the eyes. “What happened to Hayden was an accident. That doesn’t mean that it’ll happen to you.” 

My mother spoke with such firmness and sincerity that it was hard not to start bawling again. It was killing me not being able to tell her the truth. I wanted to so badly. Even if I told Mom the truth and she believed me, I don’t think that she would ever fully understand. I barely understood. Maybe things were better this way. 

“I don’t know how you feel, Kaia,” my mom said, brushing away the tears on my cheek. “But I know you’ll miss Hayden. We all will. I won’t tell you that the pain will go away and you’ll stop missing her. However, over time, you’ll start to feel better and you’ll be able to think of all the good times you and Hayden had. I still think of your grandfather, I just think of all the good things: his sense of humor, the stories he told me as a child. I think about your Grandmother, too…” 

She trailed off, her dark eyes clouded with sadness. I could tell that even after all those years, the death of my grandmother still hurt my mom. 

“I understand what it’s like to lose someone,” she went on. If you want to talk to someone, your dad and I will always be able to listen, and Alana is, too. I promise, honey.” 

I was so thankful to have my mom here for me, I wanted to sob. Even though she didn’t know the full story, I felt as if in some small way she understood. 

She placed the plate of food on my desk. “Your dean called. He said due to… recent events…” 

I knew this was coming. Chiron told me to think about the decision I would have to make. 

“He said that he thinks that his school is the best option for you. But if you want, you can stay in the city and go to your old school and only take summer courses. It’s up to you. I won’t decide for you. I trust you to know what is best for you.” 

“I like it there, Mom,” I said. “There are other kids who went through the same thing. They understand what I’m going through…” 

Mom kissed me on the forehead. “I’m happy you feel that way. You don’t have to make the decision now, honey. You have a few days. Take your time.” 

“Okay, Mom.” 

“Come out when you’re ready, Kaia. I know your friends would like to see you. And maybe take your dad up on his offer.” 

I smiled. “Y’know… I _am_ in the mood for an Oreo milkshake.” 

Mom smiled back, closing the door behind her. After she was gone, I pulled Hayden’s bag out of my closet and started going through it. Before I left camp, I packed everything of hers into the bag. She had a lot of pictures. My throat tightened. I found an old shoe box and put all of her pictures in there. I would sort them out later when I was ready. Everything else, except her axe and daggers, would stay here. 

I thought about the decision Mom left for me to make. Did I want to stay here and go back to the way things were? Have a part of my normal life back? 

Without a second thought, I answered no. It was the truth. I couldn’t go back to my old life. I was too different now. Old me and my old life was over. I’ll never have it back. 

I thought about Hayden; all good thoughts: I thought about our all night, bad movie marathons. The time when we super glued the dry erase markers to the white board in English class. How her eyes lit up when she talked about all the places she wanted to go to and the things she wanted to see. 

My heart ached. I wanted to travel, to enjoy the experiences for the both of us. 

But the only way I could do that was to train and learn to fight. I have to continue to survive. Death is not an option for me. I was living life for the both of us now. 

I made a silent prayer to Hayden. I had no idea if she could hear me. Then again, she was a child of the underworld, if anyone could, she could. 

“I’ll see you again,” I muttered under my breath. “It won’t be anytime soon, so just be patient and wait for me. In the meantime, enjoy paradise. Tell your dad I said hello.” 

Maybe it was my imagination, but suddenly, my room felt a little warmer. The air was a bit fresher and sweeter. My spirits lifted. 

Hayden was here with me. I know it’s lame to say, but, in a way, she’ll always be here. 

I would honor her memory. I would become a true hero. I would live as long as I needed to so that I could see all the places that she didn’t get the chance to see. 

As I stood to leave my room, I noticed an orange bottle filled with pills. My Adderall. It seemed like forever since I’d taken them last. I held the small bottle, rubbing my thumb over the printed label. 

I dropped the bottle into my trash can and went to join my friends and family. I wanted to spend some time with them before I left for Camp Half-Blood.


End file.
